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Folks, whatever you had planned for 2020 is likely to be canceled if it isn’t already. In the most bizarre, eerie situation any of us have ever seen, the world is slowly shutting down.

Many of us are self-isolating or being asked to by the government. Some of you are sick.

Events, birthday parties, concerts… everything is canceled. If you are a parent, you are facing an unknown period of homeschooling. If you are in the tourism or hospitality industry many of you are facing job losses and uncertainty about your future.

I’m probably not doing much better than you my friend. My anxiety is sky-high. But I absolutely loved my friend Erica’s post – The Pitfall of Comparative Suffering & Why Empathy Is the Cure. She emphases ‘opting out of the hardship Olympics’. Everyone deserves to have their feelings validated.

I’m thinking of it this way. We are all A boat. We might not all be in the same boat, each boat might look slightly different, might sail faster or slower. But, we are all in a boat.

So with that in mind, I want to share some things that are helping me keep my own boat afloat right now.

Humour

I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it livable.

Victor Frankl

Funny pandemic memes are life-giving right now. The ability to laugh in this incredibly adverse situation is very important.

A friend of mine, Rachelle at Abundant Life with Less, has a bunch of funny memes saved on her Instagram story highlights – it’s worth checking out, she seems to find the best ones!

Humour is an individual thing though so instead of giving you a list here, I’d like to invite you to make your own.

What are your favorite funny movies, sitcoms, books, youtube channels or websites that always make you laugh? Download them and make them a part of your daily routine today. And you are welcome to share them in the comments below.

Reminder: Humor is not canceled.

Three Instagram accounts to follow

These 3 ladies are truly heroic. Showing up in the midst of their own anxieties and providing incredibly valuable content.

• Jen Hatmaker. Jen is an author, speaker, television presenter and podcaster. Her post on laundry had me laughing till I cried last night! God bless her for bringing us back to reality. There will always be laundry.
• Liz Gilbert. I love this woman so much. Author and lover of humanity, her IGTV video from her bed at 4am was wonderful. After waking up with anxiety she chooses to reach out and tell a story of a time she’d previously been brave. Why? Because story time is calming.
• Glennon Doyle. Author and philanthropist/activist, Glennon held a ‘family meeting’ with her community a couple of days ago and shared some ideas about why this is so hard and how to help each other. I loved her raw honesty and wisdom.

Reminder: Community is not canceled

Podcasts to tune into

Here are two podcasts I’m enjoying that are informative, and science-based, about the pandemic.

• Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction with CNN’s Cheif Medical Correspondent. Short, bite-sized episodes that cover lots of information that you might need to know. From what the virus actually is to busting the myths surrounding cures or vaccines.
• Epidemic is hosted by Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist was an Ebola worker during the West African epidemic. Co-hosted by Ron Klain, the U.S. Ebola czar from 2014 to 2015. The episodes are longer and a little more in-depth and political in nature.

If you are looking for some mental health advice during this time check out Gretchin Rubin’s podcast episode – Coping During COVID-19—How to Stay Happier and Calmer in Difficult Times. She also has a bunch of other resources on how to cope worth checking out.

And if you just want to be distracted by something completely different from corona, you could check out my previous post – 10 of the best podcasts available in 2019.

Reminder: Education is not canceled

For your littlies

Audible has made ALL their children’s stories FREE. You can find all the titles and tune in to them HERE .

TedED is a wonderful resource for fascinating things for kids to learn about.

Many Zoo’s across the world have set up live streams of their animal enclosures. Visit them virtually!

• Smithsonian’s National Zoo
• The San Diego Zoo
• Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Cam
• Kitten Rescue Sanctuary Los Angeles

I’ll have more resources and ideas for being at home with your kids over the coming weeks, but this is my current thinking now that we are in a four-week lockdown.

Tiny amounts of ‘schoolwork’ + large amounts of natural learning (nature, housekeeping 😜) + moderate amounts of screentime.

Next week I’ll share what our home routine looks like so if you are interested, make sure you are signed up to get my emails.

Reminder: Family time, however you choose to do it, is not cancelled

Food

I know many of you are enjoying the extra time to bake and create in the kitchen. Cooking and making food can be a lovely ritualistic, soothing activity.

Here are my top three favorite recipes that will be a staple over the next week weeks.

• Chewy nut and chocolate chunk cookies by Kelly Gibney (GF, DF)
• Creamy coconut Vegetarian Korma
• Thai broccoli spinach soup, again by Kelly Gibney

If you have a favorite recipe that you’ll be making during this time, feel free to tell us about it in the comments below.

Next week: I’m sharing some of my Nana’s recipes

Reminder: Eat whatever the hell you want during a pandemic.

That’s all for this week. It’s taken me all day to write this. In the middle of it, our incredible Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, has announced the extreme measures we will be taking here in NZ to slow the spread and flatten the curve.

Schools are shut as of NOW. All non-essential businesses are closed in 48 hours.

Deep breaths my fellow New Zealanders, we are not alone.

All in a boat… let’s figure out how to keep it afloat together.