Three Things

The one with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Feb 03, 2023

Hi friends!

Happy Friday! Doing something a little bit different this week and sharing three [random] things. I was out of town last week, and this week has felt like a blur, but it’s February! We made it out of January. (Did last month feel like pure chaos to anyone else?)

So…let’s chat!

Five-Year Journal

Last month, with everything about the blood shortage and busyness at work, I’ve been trying to find ways to stay positive and remember to be more grateful for the good stuff. I’m admittedly not great at compartmentalizing, so that’s hard to do sometimes when I’m feeling really worried about something. I’ve known journaling is supposed to be good for mental health and cultivating gratitude, but despite being a writer, I’ve never been much of a journaler — or at least not a consistent one. I feel like everyone I follow on social media has been posting about their one-line-a-day journals lately, and while I wasn't sure if I could make journaling a habit, just one sentence seemed doable-ish.

I ended up buying this one, and I’m enjoying it so far, although it doesn’t quite feel like part of my routine just yet. I write in it at night before bed, and while I’m basically physically unable to write just one sentence ever, the lack of space in the notebook forces me to stay succinct and, as a result, it doesn’t feel like as much of a burden as regular journaling. I even brought it with me on my recent trip! I think it’ll be kind of fun to look back on in the next year too, assuming I’m able to stick to it. We’ll see!

Being a Beginner on the Run (Again)

Last weekend, I went up to Northern California to visit my best friend and hang out with her family (including my mini bff, her 1.5 year old). While I hadn’t run since, eh, October due to — you guessed it — yet another injury, I decided to pack my running shoes and gear just in case I felt like attempting some miles during the trip. I LOVE running in other places when I’m traveling, and my friend’s town also happens to be very adorable and run-able (you can get to the main downtown area within a couple miles from where she lives). The injury I’d been benched for since the fall, a calf strain, has been feeling better so it seemed like as good a time as any if I was going to get back on the run.

I think I’ve talked about it a bit in this space before, but I messed up the cartilage in my knee mid-pandemic (too many long, uphill runs to deal with my stress and grief when my mom was sick and then no longer with us, and too little strength training). I avoided surgery and was able to get rid of the pain thanks to an amazing physical therapist and pretty diligent PT routine, but I can no longer put in the miles I used to. I have to be really thoughtful about when I run and how, and can’t really do more than one short run a week, at most. I’ve thought a lot about just calling it quits — in other words, to stop trying so hard to hang on to running and keep it in my life. But… it’s a hard habit to break. A tough love to let go of.

Anyways, I brought my running shoes on my trip and you know what? I did it — I actually went for a damn run on Saturday morning. I wanted to stay in bed and sleep in a bit longer, but I didn’t. It was absolutely freezing out (I have lived in SoCal for a long time and it shows…. also I literally never pack appropriately for the weather), so I wanted to turn around as soon as my fingers started to feel like blocks of ice, but… I didn’t. I kept going, and made it 3 very chilly miles. My body didn’t feel all that awesome (being a beginner at running — and most things — is hard!), and my pace was nowhere near what it once was, but… I made it. I committed to myself, to this quiet goal I had — small at it may sound — and gosh, I was so proud after. Heck, I’m still proud. It was one run, one day, but sometimes, that’s all we need.

Valentines for Kiddos

Lastly, something sweet to end on. I know Valentine’s Day is coming up and yes, sure, it’s a Hallmark holiday, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it sort of fun for kiddos, right? The children’s hospital near me, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), rolls out e-card writing drives for the big kid-friendly holidays every year — like Halloween and Valentine’s Day — so people can fill out cards online that will end up getting printed and delivered to the kids who’ll be stuck in the hospital around that holiday. I’m not sure there’s much worse as kid than being stuck in the hospital feeling sick on a holiday or your birthday, so I always try to fill out a couple of these when possible.

If you want to join me by participating in CHLA’s program, you can find more info on their website or go directly to their Valentine’s Day card drive site. It takes under five minutes to fill these out, and will surely bring smiles to some kids’ faces. I’d be willing to bet other children’s hospitals do something similar around holidays too, so it’s worth a Google if you want to support kids in your local community as well. 🧡

So Many Somethings

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