Staying grounded

I've now been working from home for over a month, and I can expect at least a few more weeks of it from my understanding. When I start to feel lost in it all — the chaos, the uncertainty, the gloom — keeping myself grounded has been extremely important to me.

One of my favorite little things I've worked into my day-to-day life is the use of my screen door. Our apartment has the tiniest balcony, not fit to really even step out on, but it's good for a few outdoor plants and a nice view. But we really had never taken advantage of its screen door.

I've always loved that I could see out to the walkways, trees, and pool from my living room and from where I work from home at the kitchen table, but I think I was previously worried that if we opened the door and relied just on the screen, that our cat Keller would scratch at it and damage it. But that hasn't been the case at all. In fact, he loves it just as much as we do, if not more. I've been making a point to turn the AC off and enjoy the screen doors every not-dreary day, and Keller has loved finding a sunny spot in front of the screen to nap while birds chirp and leaves rustle.

It's been such a small but wonderful constant for me. If I feel shocked by how much time I'm spending at home, or if I feel weighed down by the lack of a sure 'end date' to all of this, simply hearing the world carry on outside has reminded me that I'm just one piece of this wide world. And oh what a world it is.