It’s a bit early but it’s been a rough year (and a very rough month) for a variety of reasons I may or may not expand on someday. But anyhow, I thought I’d post a list of a few things keeping me sane these days…
1. Charlie Echo Especially when he’s not chewing everything in sight!
2. Drinking (Then Giving Up Drinking)
I’m not completely booze free but can count on one hand the number of drinks I’ve had since the end of August. (Future blog post? ” Jason Rates Non-Alcoholic Dad Beers.”) Better for my waistline, better for my wallet and better for my worldview.
3. My Family Being part of the sandwich generation has all kinds of challenges and stresses (another potential future blog post could be about a recent week-long experience with our crumbling healthcare system) but hanging out with this group makes it all worthwhile! 4. Conversations With Friends
Having long conversations with people who are in similar circumstances – whether that’s having the same “sandwich generation” issues or the challenges of working in the world of Covid to simply exchanging tips on raising pets – does so much to make you realise you’re not alone in this crazy world.
5. Music
Especially the timeless sounds of the Rolling Stones…
Funny how this video says that prior to March 2020, you’d only know about N95 masks if you were doing home renovation projects or lived in a city with high pollution which prompted Shea and I to exclaim at the same time “Or if you grew up on a farm!”
This is an explanation of how Copperfield pulled it off…
Watching this, it struck me that this would make a good Secular Sunday post even if it wasn’t overtly about religion.
Seeing people in the live audience say things like “If I was home watching on TV, I would be skeptical but I was here and it was there then it wasn’t there” or that they couldn’t believe something that had always been there could suddenly not be is a good reminder of our human biases and blind spots.
*Of course* it’s an illusion, *of course* the Statue of Liberty did not actually disappear – and I suspect on some level, these people must know that.
But those in the audience willingly suspended their skeptical and critical thinking to be part of this experience of mass delusion.
We had a dump a couple weeks ago but that disappeared and I think I’ve decided that this annual post will come the first day we have “snow that sticks” (and today’s Alberta clipper definitely seems that’ll be the case with a big storm blowing in overnight, some highways closed, buses stuck and people asking for rides from anyone with 4x4s on social media.)
I didn’t blog this week as I ended up having an unexpected journey through our overloaded healthcare system the past few days with an ill family member.
I may write more about my experience at some point (short version: healthcare system in shambles, healthcare workers are amazing!) but for now, I just want to focus on this little bundle of joy who recently joined our family…
Anyhow, a good reminder about not believing everything you see online and doing the minimum of research before spreading misinformation (although I’m still going to post the pic now that I’ve done this disclaimer since I had kept it around so long, I’m not going to waste it!) 😉
