Small but constant

Creating a routine in this 'new normal' has been an experiment the past few weeks. When I was prepping for PhD comps, that set the primary rhythm of the day. With that over (done and past, thank the lord), and Holy Week and Easter also over (those days had their own internal rhythm revolving around liturgy), this week seems to be the official start of Quarantine Life 2.0.

We always hear that establishing a daily routine anchors the day, making it easier to live that day well. At the same time, we're all in some ways a bit topsy-turvy with this pandemic so I wanted to choose small things that were easy to do and didn't take a lot of time. I thought of two in particular: a sketch a day, and a note a day.

Sketch a day. One of my old housemates gave me a 'Daily Sketch Journal' a couple years ago, which has a handful of sketches but I stopped using it at some point. So I found it and started it Monday. I keep it in a corner of my shelf next to my mug of paintbrushes, pencils, etc. so it's the work of a few minutes to grab a pen/pencil and the journal, turn to the next page, and sketch something. I sketch the first thing that comes to mind, whatever it is. It will be quite revealing and entertaining to look back on the sketches and 'see' my state of mind every day of the quarantine.

Note a day. This is a little more complicated (and limited by how many stamps I actually have left from my Christmas card postage stash) since I have to choose who to write to, etc. but I've come up with a list for the week, so that part's sorted out. I've focused on friends with April birthdays or anniversaries.

But the most important mailing this week will be the next packet of cards and letters to patients and healthcare professionals at the covid ICU in NYC where my friend works. The first packet reached NYC on Good Friday--filled with messages of encouragement and support to the patients, doctors, nurses, RTs, everyone staffing the covid unit. I've gotten a new packet of cards every day this week, so they will all go in to the mailing on Friday.

Small things but each day, they'll add up. If creativity strikes, hurrah! Yet quarantine-brain is a very real thing...but one can at least muddle through and do the small.