How to Stay Sane

I've started reading the food section of the Washington Post. And the advice columns. And the comics. And sports, of course. Anything but the front page. It's just. too. much. 

I have deleted Twitter and I am not missing starting my day stressed and angry. I don't think I'm being willfully uninformed (that would be Trump)--I just think I'm choosing to input very selectively and in small quantities. News overload is real, and I felt like I was reading stories and posts up to my eyeballs, and I'm not sure it was doing me any good so I've reversed course and now I spend a minute reading headlines, pick an article or two to actually read, and that's it. Maybe, MAYBE, the evening news. ALWAYS, ALWAYS the NYT mini crossword puzzle. 

I'm not feeling like it's been a bad decision for me. I'm not feeling like I don't know what's going on. I do. Generally. And that's all I need, for now. Because I know how I'm voting. Nothing I read is going to change that. I'm doing what I can  to feel like I'm not just sitting idly by as our democracy wastes away. I wear my mask if I leave the house. I've written voter encouragement postcards. I donate to campaigns. Watching Rachel Maddow doesn't seem like it's going to equip me with anything helpful right now. 

I get it. We are in full crisis mode. 2020 is a shit storm hurricane. But I really don't need to be in the eye of it everyday. 

So. Ordered a rowing machine. Have been baking cookies and trying new recipes. Taking walks when the air allows. Reading a few really great books. Practicing my Italian. 

Just trying to stay sane. It's a low bar, I know. But sanity is worth having, even if precariously.