election season

mental health first aid

I am all about #livingseasonally obviously, but I’ve been stressing about how we probably won’t know much about the presidential election next Tuesday night, as much as all of us just. want. this. to. be. over. But then I had an aha moment this week: if I look at it as election season instead of election day, I might be better equipped for what’s ahead.

So here are some of my mental health first aid plans for election season:

• I am volunteering as a poll watcher on election day, but I am planning a little yoga and prayer circle for 5pm. Email me for deets if you want to join. Even if can’t join me, I think finding some time for prayer or a metta meditation would be cathartic for Tuesday. Regardless of what happens, prayer and contemplation help remind us of the truth that we’re all interconnected - and that we have more in common than what divides us, as the Pantsuit ladies say.

• We are ordering dinner out on Tuesday, I told Grant to pick up a growler from our down-the-street brewery, and we’re going to watch the new The Witches (the kids and I are OBsessed with all things Roald Dahl) after dinner. Being glued to our phones/the tv all night is not a good idea, so we need a distraction we’ll all look forward to.

• I’m teaching a yin and yoga nidra practice on Wednesday night (you can join me via Zoom!), and I’m planning on carving out some extra time for yoga nidra next week because I know I’ll need some extra rest.

  

• Be like Donna and come up with a treat yo self plan. I am really good at the treat yo self plan. Here are some of my go-tos if you’re not so great at treating yourself:

  • This tea is magical, and we go through a tin a month in the winter months (tea bags if you don’t do loose leaf).

  • Previously mentioned growler and takeout. Plus I bought some champagne just in case, but it will be hidden in the garage so as not to jinx anything.

  • Dark chocolate salted caramels. Dark chocolate generally. Plus Hippeas, which I accidentally got addicted to during quarantine. Costco reeeeally needs to stop carrying that giant bag because I have zero self control.

  • Comfort food I could make in my sleep is on the weekly menu: tacos, pasta, cottage pie, chili.

  • I bought a new seasonal candle last week on vacation that I’ve been saving for November 1st. Speaking of candles, please tell me your favorites. My whole family weirdly loves scented candles, but I’ve never found a clean brand to be loyal to.

  • I’m working on a big #booktherapy order from Wild Geese. The shopping research on what to get is half of the fun for me.

  • We’re going to a state park next weekend to hike and enjoy the last of the fall colors.

  • Boring, but necessary grandma habits like going to bed early, eating my greens, drinking lots of water, getting outside everyday. Ughh, I know, I hate adulting too, but unfortunately, the seemingly boring stuff does actually work best.

Add your favorite ways to treat yo self in the comments, so that we can all copy off of each other!

Rants and raves

Third places. Sociologist Robert Putnam wrote about the decline in social capital - in 1995 nonetheless - and specifically pointed to the decreasing presence and popularity of “third places.” Putnam said the the first place was home, the second place was work, and third places were places in between those two - churches, cafes and coffee shops, libraries, community centers, etc. Putnam was warning in 1995 of the dangers of third places where we can all come together. Covid is obviously wreaking havoc on these types of gathering spaces and communities.

For the past six years, one of our family’s most consistent third places has been Rail. This is no secret to anyone who knows us (or to anyone who follows me on Instagram!). It has been our family’s special occasion, celebration, sick-of-cooking, spontaneous bike ride destination, end-of-a-bad-week spot since it first opened. They announced last week that they had done they best they could through Covid, but they just weren’t going to make it. Grant and I were backpacking, so we didn’t get the news until we got down off the mountain and several people had texted us already.

We were - and are - so sad. Our kids are sad. This pandemic and, moreso our government’s failure to maintain their end of our social contract, continues to wreak havoc in big and small ways. I’m sad for Toby and Mel and for all of us for whom Rail was a third place or even just a guaranteed delicious meal with local, seasonal ingredients. It was a stark reminder that it is on us, as consumers, to make sure we’re patronizing the places we love, especially going into the Covid winter ahead.

Ted Lasso. I am all in. So much so that I’m going to say just sign up for the Apple free week trial and binge season one over the next week - this would be excellent election season first aid. I love Ted, I love the characters, I love the multiple storylines. I love sports stories, but even if you don’t, like Friday Night Lights, this isn’t really about the sport it’s about really redemptive, vulnerable, and authentic characters. I love it so much.

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. As the weather turns colder, we play more games. This is our current family favorite. But beware of your fingers if you have an uber competitive family like the one I seem to live with.

Worth sharing this week

• This is one of the better visuals I’ve seen about how various factors most impact Covid spread. It is helping us make better holiday planning decisions.

• I shared these Biden podcast interviews (Pod Save America and Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us) on Instagram this week, but I’m re-sharing them here because I think they’re so worth listening to - regardless of whether or not you’ve already voted.

• If you know your enneagram number, Kate Martin of Sojourn Grace did some election-specific meditations for every number. Technically, we all have aspects of each number within us, so it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to listen to each one over the next week.

• All of the videos of people dancing and bands showing up to entertain people in line to vote are making me so happy, but I especially loved this one:

  Resistance Revival Chorus @ResistanceRev

  A whole mood! The joyful defiance of dancing in line at the polls in a “f*** 2020” Tshirt is what voting in 2020 looks like! Nothing and no one is getting in the way of our joy and our vote! #joyisanactofresistance #joytothepolls @JoyToThePolls #vote #EarlyVoting #TurnUp #Philly

  

  Seasonal view of the week

  Maeve’s class has a “famous and dead” presentation every October. This year is her third - and last - famous and dead because she “graduates” to upper elementary next year. But #becausecovid, the parents couldn’t go watch the presentations like we usually do. So instead, Jasper agreed to be there for her presentation, and Maeve’s teacher sent me this pic that made my heart melt. It’s like a perfect snapshot of 2020 being weird and terrible and wonderful, as usual. P.S. I promise she had a better Florence Nightingale-esque costume on when she left this morning!

  

  Cheers to treating yo self during election season!

  Sara