I wrote this last week in the middle of the night when I was having a hard time sleeping and didn’t end up posting it because I was up to my eyeballs in 15 hour days of kids at home. But now I’m sitting in a coffee shop and nobody is asking me for a thing so I figured I’d post this even though we’re not longer in covid isolation! 🙂

1. My husband is quarantined with covid right now. Don’t worry, he’s doing ok and on the mend. At this point, he’s basically binging Narcos and asking me to send up popcorn.
2. Quarantine for my husband means I have been parenting my kids alone for the past several days. School is canceled. It’s raining outside A LOT. I’m not binging anything. But I am making popcorn.
3. Actually, I did convince my boys to watch all three Princess Switch movies on Netflix this last weekend. Through our 19 days of being at home, I’ve figured out that Owen kinda loves to snuggle and watch G-rated cheesy Christmas movies with me. It’s the best!
4. About the solo parenting… I’m not complaining because I know some people do that all day, everyday. I just like my husband and miss having him around. And it’s nice to have someone on my team at home because that’s what I’m used to.
5. On the subject of teams, I’m excited for basketball season that starts this weekend and if we’re lucky, my boys will be playing their games. (** they got to play!) It’s been a long time since they played basketball because of covid so the skills are rusty but the enthusiasm is real.
6. There’s something about being on a team that feels so good. It feels like belonging and a space to have fun, make friends, make mistakes and still get a high five when the clock runs out of time. It feels like community. And a sense of community makes me feel happy… even joy filled.
7. And don’t we all just want to feel that? Joy is defined as ‘a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.’ Nothing about that sounds bad. It sounds like what every person (who has their basic needs met) is looking for.
8. And I don’t mean joy as in that fabulous sweater you found on Black Friday or the bliss of that perfect bite of your favorite something… although those are perfectly joyful. I mean, yes!! I love food, fashion and a good deal. All good things!!
9. I guess the idea that I’m leaning towards is a deeper joy. It’s rooted in connection to yourself and others. It’s what real, authentic community feels like. It’s the kind of joy that warms from the inside and lasts long enough to share.
10. I’ve been thinking a lot about the ingredients of community, belonging and a joy filled life. It may just come down to this: We grow roots, we are grounded and find meaning when we share who we are with others and are generous with what we have. Joy doesn’t seem to be had in the getting but in the giving. Where will you find joy today?