My friend, Chelsea, is keeping lists on her fridge throughout this crazy, shifting crisis to reminder her what she is looking forward to and what she wants to take away from her family’s experience. It’s such a smart idea that I’m a) doing it myself, b) adding a third list and c) sharing the idea with you.
List One: I call this the “Oh, Sh!t, It’s Real” list, or alternatively, the “I’ll tell my grand-kids about this someday” list. This is the stuff where you take a deep breath and realize you are living through … wait for it… unprecedented times. Some things on my list so far: sewing a homemade mask for my four-year-old son, vacation cancellations, visiting my mom and not being able to hug her, ZOOM calls with extended family, and the giant banner on our town bridge for graduating high school seniors.
and wish they didn’t have to.
List Two: This is the “I can’t wait until we can do this again…” list. I challenge you to put big and small things on this list. Vacations. Business trips. Drive though coffee. Hugging my mom. Going out to dinner with my wife while my son is home with a babysitter. Visiting book stores. Getting back to the gym. (Just kidding, that’s my wife’s thing, not mine.)
List Three: The “Keep Doing” list. This is where I keep track of what I’ve done while under stay at home orders that I want to keep doing: Planting a garden. ZOOM happy hours with my ride-or-die friends. Daily walks. More unstructured, unscheduled time with my family. Getting enough sleep. Being honest when someone asks how I’m doing.
Each of these lists is a work-in-progress. Each is a reminder that what we’re going through is, indeed, a crisis and that it will, eventually, end. I’d love to hear what’s on your lists, too.
work your happy 
1 thought on “Chelsea’s Three Lists”