Things I Wish I Never Had To Worry About

These are crazy times. The current list of things one could worry about is endless. On a normal day people find themselves worrying about their finances, relationships, or an unexpected diagnosis. 2020 has been a year like no other that I remember in my lifetime. Throw in the stresses and ugliness of a recent presidential election and add a Covid-19 pandemic on top like a cherry on a sundae. Some days it can feel like TOO much.

We are now nearing the holidays; Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas a month after that. Now we have tighter Covid-19 restrictions in our state for at least the next three weeks (after the last eight months, we KNOW it will be more than three weeks). Our holidays this year will be very different. Most of us know at least one person who has experienced a Covid birthday already. Thanksgiving (for most of us) will be quieter and more subdued. Personally while I will be fixing dinner for my immediate family of three, I think I will pull out the good china but stay in my cozy sweats. This year's theme is about being flexible and learning to go with the flow.

Worry comes in many shapes and sizes and there are those days when we wish we didn't have to worry about the big things OR the little things. 

We wish we didn't have to worry about whether or not someone had enough food to eat.

We may wish someone would remember us.

There's times we worry whether someone has Covid-19 just because they routinely sneezed after raking the leaves in the yard.

We wish we didn't have to worry about people remembering to respect each other and get along.

We worry about potential confrontations when people don't wear a mask. None of us like wearing them, but we're doing what we can to be part of a solution.

What is something you have found yourself worrying more about this year than in years past?

How will you keep calm today?

Today in the U.S. it is election day; a 2020 presidential election while still coping with a Covid-19 pandemic. This one will definitely be one for the history books (for many reasons). I didn't sleep much last night. I often find it difficult to shut my brain off with everything that has been going on lately. I tend to think too long about too much; so I finally decided to just get up, especially since I had set my alarm for an hour earlier so that I could stand in line and vote before going in to work. It was a brisk morning, but the skies were clear and everyone standing in line outside the precinct was friendly and orderly. All good things for sure. Hopefully the rest of the day goes as smoothly for the rest of the voters.

As if many people haven't been stressed and feeling anxious enough lately about the pending election, now we get to feel anxious about the results. It goes without saying that half of the voters will be saying, 'Woohoo! We won.' and the other half will be accusing the other party of cheating. After everything I have witnessed about humanity in recent months I have come to expect nothing less. In the next few days there will be celebrations by some and accusations by others. There will be gloating and there will be hurt feelings. For today people will share their voice and vote. For today people will talk about peace and the need to be kind. But what happens tomorrow? How many of those same people will forget today's words of unity.

I wish I knew the right words to share that would instill confidence and hope for everyone. I wish my magic wand didn't have years of dust on it and with a simple wave through the air would create an instant and lasting sense of calm.

For now to maintain some sense of focus through the rest of my day I will take my boss's puppy outside for a few walks (it's a perfect day for puppy therapy!). I promised myself that if I even turn the TV on tonight it would only be to start binge watching another season of the British Baking Championship. I just finished season one on the weekend. The LAST thing I need tonight is to start watching election results where every news station will want to be the first to get the scoop and declare a winner with only 1% of the votes having been tabulated. By voting this morning I've done what I can to be part of the process. Hopefully the results will be the voice of the people, will be accepted as that, and people will remember tomorrow the words of unity that they spoke of today.

Have you voted yet?

How will you stay calm as you await the results?