I have been really busy since the pandemic started. I am always really busy but it’s been shocking just how busy I am even when I’m not leaving home to go anywhere. A lot of it is my fault: I fill my days talking to people and watching TV and being online.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I went for a walk and didn’t turn on music, or call anybody, or listen to an audiobook or a podcast. I just walked and took in what was around me.

One day, my daughter turned off the TV and said, “I’m tired of TV.” And that was that.

Over this past weekend, we turned on some white noise and read.

We just needed quiet. Even though there’s not a lot going on out there, there has still been a lot of noise in here between the video games and the television shows and the phone calls (so many phone calls!).

So unplugging for an hour or a couple of hours has been nice. It’s like a little mini-reset through it all.

For this year’s A to Z Challenge, I have decided that I’m going to focus on my survival/coping strategies while practicing social distancing. What are the things that make it bearable? What helps alleviate my stress and fear–or at least what distracts me from both? Tune in tomorrow to see what I choose for R!