The April Joy List
And a confession...
My Friends!
How are you? I hope everyone is holding tightly to joy and, if you celebrate, I hope you’re as excited for Easter as I am. I love all things spring and flowers and candy and dresses.
Today is all about joy, but first a confession: I haven’t been very joyful lately. Our nanny was out with COVID this past week and I’ve had more health appointments lately than I care to admit. Yes I am getting stronger, but work has ramped up, and this body is still so weak and needs a lot of care. The good news is that this community holds me accountable, so I’m committed to getting my act together this week. Today’s Joy List is filled with things that have brought me great joy that require no purchase. I love buying and receiving gifts but I also love recognizing the joy that exists independent of money and capitalism.
Here goes!
Joy in Movement: Since having long COVID, I haven’t been allowed to exercise at all. My body just can’t handle it. As someone who has played sports (poorly) and worked out her entire life, this has been a tough adjustment. It’s only now that I’m allowed to take a walk, and those ten minutes a day have brought me tremendous joy. I won’t push you to start some trendy new exercise regimen, but I encourage you to do what you can: take a work call on a walk or stretch between tasks. A favorite around here is a quick dance break! DJ Bennett recommends gasolina by Daddy Yankee, aka the iconic spring break anthem from 20 years ago, ha!
If you are able to safely move your body, give some easy movement a try. If not, check out this company that has amazing breath work programs to strengthen your lungs and reset your nervous system, things that we all need, Long COVID or not!
Joy in Kindness: Depending on how you want to implement this one may cost a few dollars! I think we can all agree that the world needs more kindness, so I started buying coffee for the person behind me at our local place. It’s a minor, inexpensive, simple thing that, on multiple occasions, has led to a cascade of people paying it forward. But even when that doesn’t happen, it genuinely brings me joy to simply spread kindness in this f-cked up world. I call it 5 dollars for a smile, though your “5 dollars” can be helping out at the Snack Shack at your child’s softball game, or donating a copy of Grief is Love or another great book to your local Little Free Library!
Joy in Grief: Friends, I really miss our dog. For the years and years I waited for a baby to come into our lives, Sadie indulged me every Easter. She let me adorn her with bunny ears, helped me host a house full of friends and their children, let me take endless photos, and of course lay with me on the living room floor whenever I just needed a second. Now she’s gone. I’m also an Easter obsessed girl because of my mom who is also gone. The holiday was one of her many “things” that I have made my own. Once upon a time, I even briefly owned an actual bunny. This was a terrible idea and my mother ultimately made me take him back to the farm. I think we can all guess what probably happened to Peter Rabbit 😬.
Since I haven’t yet figured out how to bring mom and Sadie back to life, I am bringing them along. I’m doubling down on the joy they gave me by giving that joy to others. This year, we will dye eggs with Bennett, take my 101-and-a-half year old grandma to brunch, and (pray for me on this one) host 13 toddlers and their parents for an Easter egg roll with the Easter Bunny. We are honoring our grief by leaning into joy this year and it honestly feels really wonderful.
Joy in Supporting Others: Okay, this one is monetary! As we all know, there is a lot of economic uncertainty around the world right now and it’s becoming harder and harder for American Small Businesses to compete and stay afloat. My first job for President Obama was at the U.S. Small Businesses Administration where I had the privilege of criss-crossing the country, engaging with small business owners. Small businesses are the engine of local economies and they need us to buy from them right now. I love Badass Bagels, my girl Mya over at Predominantly Black Candles, 54 Thrones for hand cream, and Recchiuti for chocolates. Check them out and drop your recs in the comments!
Sending all the joyful vibes your way!
xxMarisa
13 toddlers?! Very brave, friend 🤣
The gloves are amazing. That's all I have to say.