Oh, 2020. What a year you have been. Now we’re nearly at Thanksgiving, and it would be in my nature to list all the things that have happened this year as a way of appreciating how far we’ve come. But, that doesn’t sound very fun since we’re still very much in the midst of it all. But one thing has sort of surprised me in the middle of all the doom and gloom. It’s that being at home is where everyone may be “stuck” if all goes wrong.
I can imagine a lot of terrible places to be stuck. On the Titanic in the middle of the Atlantic. At a bus station at Thanksgiving in Fresno, CA (happened). In a foreign country with a missing passport. At Walmart in line.
The one place where I would choose to be stuck if I had to be stuck would be HOME. Home is so full of potential– dinners to be enjoyed, cookies to be made, books to be read, movies to be watched, work to be done. Imagine how your home would need to be set up to enjoy each of those things. That’s the key: set up your home so that you can really enjoy all the things you want to do there.
If you want to enjoy dinner in a different spot than in front of the tv, create that spot. Move things around. If you want to bake but your kitchen countertops are covered with stuff, organize and pare down. If you like the idea of reading, add bookshelves, a comfy chair, a lamp, and a side table for a drink. Want to make movie-watching more fun? Create the right lighting with lamps and make sure your comfiest furniture is in that room. Light a yummy-smelling candle and a fire in the fireplace.
Humans were never meant to live in boring, drywall-clad environments. Experiment with paint color, art, and furniture arrangements. Make it so you have a different experience within your home than you do now. Change the rooms around and turn the dining room into something else and something else into a dining room.
Give your home some love before the next lockdown (or during it, if you have to) so you can enjoy your life there. Things are going to be okay, and nothing helps promote cheery attitudes like a clean house, a comfy chair, a sunny window, and some homemade food.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
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