Sometimes I just need comfort for no particular reason. I would love to say that this weekend I needed comfort for no particular reason, but it was really an overwhelming amount of reasons I needed comfort.
We are still living pandemic life. There are no plans for restrictions lifting. More and more friends are being tested for covid-19. I am worried for them. I am weary for my family. My kids miss their friends. They miss being able to play on a playground. I miss my friends! I miss being able to sit across a table sipping wine and sharing food with them!
My kids are remote learning. This means that I struggle with internet connectivity, juggling live kids' meetings, overseeing (ie, nagging) the completion of asynchronous work, balancing mindfulness and mindset (for them and for me), and making sure they have something to look forward to.
But even I don't have that. I don't have anything to look forward to. At this point, we don't even look forward to going outside.
For days, we have been looking out our windows to see smoke. You can taste it inside our house, even though we have air purifiers in every room. We haven't been outside in 4 days. We hear reports of people fleeing fires and being overcome and losing their lives. The smoke was supposed to clear, and then it did not. So we still stare at smoke. And taste it.
Enter the need for comfort. In any form. I texted a friend that I was going to do two things in order to feel comfort. First, I was going to try something new. I wanted to learn how to knit with two colors. My daughter found a pattern she wants to try tis fall, so I set out to figure out how to help her with it. I have been knitting since graduate school, but this particular pattern was something I had never done, so I researched it.
Enter the need for comfort. In any form. I texted a friend that I was going to do two things in order to feel comfort. First, I was going to try something new. I wanted to learn how to knit with two colors. My daughter found a pattern she wants to try to make as a fall project, so I set about to figure out the directions for both of us. I have already watched two videos and created a series of knots that are not what I intended.
Secondly, I attempted to watch a movie, by myself, in my room, with the door closed. It was interrupted several times by a child who needed to share something, ask a question, or complain about their sibling. Instead, I decided to walk to my freezer and thaw out one of my favorite dishes of all time: white chicken chili. My friend, Jessica, made it for me at least twice while I recovered from my surgeries and recently made another batch for me. It was time to break out this comfort food. This is the dish I do not share in my house. It is mine and only mine (it helps that she puts kale in it). Sometimes I eat it along with a nice tortilla, but mostly I just enjoy it by itself. It gives me comfort not only because its warm, but also because someone who cares about me made it for me. And while I do not necessarily need comfort for physical reasons, it sure did bring back the warm, fuzzy feelings I needed to get through the weekend.
What do you do for comfort?
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