A Year of Words

Written: March 16, 2021

I started my blog almost a year ago, toward the start of the coronavirus pandemic.   It was years in the making in my head, but I never could get motivated to design the website and officially post my writing.   In hindsight, it seems very fitting that I started this blog in a year where we were mostly only able to speak words and could not do much else.  Maybe it wasn’t my laziness that caused the delay, but God’s plan (It’s a nice thought anyway).  I love written word and I love spoken word too.   I use lots of words every day and never seem to max out while my husband Andy maxes out at about half as many lol.  

As much as I love words in just about any format, this year showed me the value of silence and engaging in other activities. There were not nearly as many activities available last year as in years prior.  This year has been hard.  I know it’s a huge understatement.   We had some positive changes this year and I have still struggled with anxiety.   I learned quite a bit about what works and doesn’t work for me this year.  Growing pains when you are growing mentally, physically or spiritually are tough. And one growing pain for me is realizing I need actions as much as I need words.  I need to move and be busy more than I could have imagined.   I found that with working less and less social interaction, I lost most of my motivation and energy.   I was at a point where I talked to my doctor because my anxiety was bad and I physically felt blah.   After ruling out any physically ailments, I started to reflect on my health and realized I was eating horribly and barely moving.  I also was spending more time vegging out in front of my phone or television than I was writing or doing anything productive.   And it was starting to affect both my mental and physical health. 

I have made some changes that are slowly helping me get back to my normal, productive, happy self, but it is taking time.  Fixing a problem usually takes at least as long as it took to develop the problem, but it takes a lot more effort and discipline.   Now that I can see the toll this year took on me, I am thinking about all of you.  Some of you have had hard things happen this year on top of the pandemic.  Some of you don’t have a great home life to be quarantined in.   Some of you are probably like I was at one point and think you’ll get back on track once things go back to normal.  And if that’s you, please go ahead and take steps to help yourself now.   Broken parts are easier to fix before they stop working. 

Similar to the start of the pandemic, the weather is changing, the trees are budding and most people can start to get outside more thanks to the start of spring.   I urge you all to use this season as a spring board (see what I did there HA) to better health and getting back to some of the activities you love.   Take care of yourself so even if this pandemic is around in some capacity next year, we will know how to find more joy within the parameters it allows.   And let’s all say a prayer that it isn’t around next year. As much as we can find happiness in the small things, I think we are all ready to enjoy life without worrying if we remembered to bring our mask and hand sanitizer with us.