I am starting to love the ritual of Sunday mornings. It usually goes like this: we have a lazy breakfast (this morning, it was poached eggs on toast), then the kids go play outside while I sip a London fog and and peruse the New York Times.
I opened up the Times this morning to a special section simply titled “JOY”. It was filled with articles about finding joy in forgotten and unexpected places (acronym included!): “The Joy of Consuming an Obscene Number of Calories Before Noon (J.O.C.A.O.N.O.C.B.N)”, “The Joy of Picking a Fight (J.O.P.A.F.)” and 12 others that brought many a smile to my face.
“The Joy of Jogging Very, Very Slowly”? This one very much spoke to me.
This got me thinking: what has brought me joy in these times? What may bring you joy, if you haven’t found it already? Here’s my list of things that have brought me hidden and unexpected joy.
The Joy of Getting Dirty in the Garden (J.O.G.D.I.T.G.)
My garden! Carrots and radishes and spinach, oh my!
I’ve never been a gardener. It’s not that I wasn’t interested necessarily - I’ve always loved a burst of colour amongst a sea of green. But it’s never been something I did. At the beginning of this whole thing, I asked my husband to build me some planter boxes so I could try my hand at growing things. He was skeptical - the only thing I’ve managed to keep alive are the kids, plants be damned - but he acquiesced and built two beautiful raised beds for me to plant anything I wanted.
Turns out: I’m a gardener! I love it. I love training the peas and tomatoes up the trellis. I love the science of it, the art of it. Learning what to plant with what, what foods they need, what to plant where and why. It’s soul filling in a way I didn’t know it would be.
The Joy of Terrible Yoga (J.O.T.Y.)
The more I practice physiotherapy, the more I’m turning to yoga postures to stretch, to activate, to control a movement I need my clients to focus on. It could be a simple Child’s Pose for someone with a stiff shoulder or back or a flow between Downward and Upward Dog for those suffering from dizziness.
Full disclosure: I’m terrible at yoga. TERRIBLE. My balance sucks, my grace in movement is… graceless? Is that a word?
But I’m loving it. I love doing it. It FEELS good. The worse I am at it, the more I laugh at my terrible-ness and the more joy I find in it. The best is doing it with my kids - there’s something particularly enjoyable about learning something from scratch with your mini-mes. (We’re really into Cosmic Kids Yoga - Jamie is awesome!!)
The Joy of The Aimless Drive, Bike Ride and Walk (J.O.T.A.D.B.R.W.)
Like most of you out there, I’m busy. I have a full time job, a partner, two kids and responsibilities. A seemingly endless list of responsibilities. I usually try to pair movements with extra function - going up the stairs? Take this laundry basket! Going for a walk? Pick up some lettuce! The more efficient I can be, the more time I have for myself… right? Although, it never seems to end up that way.
We have gotten into the habit of a bike ride after dinner. My kids take turns leading. Where are we going? Who cares! We’re having fun! It’s freeing in a way I forgot about and so happy to have experienced again.
What are your New Joys? What has brought you happiness during these past few months? We would love to hear it!