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From bad comes good.
This thread will record my favorite things that could only have come about during a difficult time such as this. A Twitter-based gratitude journal, if you will.
#COVID19
#silverlinings
This thread will record my favorite things that could only have come about during a difficult time such as this. A Twitter-based gratitude journal, if you will.
#COVID19
#silverlinings
1) In an information email to my middle-school students, I mentioned a recent interest in watching anime, inviting their suggestions. I got many. One recommendation, though, came with a caveat to "be careful" because it's "inappropriate." 
2) #zoomhappyhour and is a thing now. No extra handwashing required. 
3) I can work on taxing projects without interruption. (My teens and I are on opposite schedules.)
4) I've talked and seen my inspiring librarian colleagues more this week than in months. Thanks, @zoom_us!
5) I can obey my bladder's orders in real time. Likewise, my stomach. (Oh, the simple pleasures.)
6) School closure has meant relying on email exchanges to communicate with students, in which some have thanked me for doing my job. This praise, especially coming from not-yet-adults, is unexpected and priceless. 
7) I value things I didn't think a lot about before -- toilet paper, enough food stocked to survive for awhile, clean running water, electrical power.
8) But also, I'm thinking about the people who ensure these comforts, the workers at factories, farms, railroads. At grocery stores, water and electric plants. The truck drivers and warehouse loaders.
All of these are more important to me now.
All of these are more important to me now.
9) I've been on screens more than usual this week, so I took a long walk with the dogs to clear my head.
Couldn't find the less-used path I sought. (Not a metaphor. Well, maybe.) Traz was insistent in leading us. I was skeptical, but relented. He was right.
Lesson in trust.
Couldn't find the less-used path I sought. (Not a metaphor. Well, maybe.) Traz was insistent in leading us. I was skeptical, but relented. He was right.
Lesson in trust.
10) My sons and I have self-isolated in the same house, texting each other.
It's the same way we usually communicate, but the son who lives at college has texted me considerably more from 30 feet away than from 200 miles away.
I'll take it.
It's the same way we usually communicate, but the son who lives at college has texted me considerably more from 30 feet away than from 200 miles away.
I'll take it.
11) While my schedule is somewhat less rigid, I've been absorbing as much learning as possible!
Also, this meme always makes me giggle, and I wanted it in my timeline.
Also, this meme always makes me giggle, and I wanted it in my timeline.
12) The only other explanation that Google doesn't listen in is that it reads my mind. 
Sons were overzealous in their stocking up on perishables for #quarantine, so I am looking for a recipe for moist (obligatory) banana bread. This is only as far as I had to go.
Sons were overzealous in their stocking up on perishables for #quarantine, so I am looking for a recipe for moist (obligatory) banana bread. This is only as far as I had to go.
This is the recipe I used. So good, I'm making another loaf today. https://divascancook.com/moist-banana-bread-recipe-easy/
13) As the quarantine continues, I'm watching old favorite comedy movies and series before bed as a departure from distressing daily #COVID19 news.
Each era had its own troubles, and these remind me that the world adjusted and kept going.
#silverlinings https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0098948/
Each era had its own troubles, and these remind me that the world adjusted and kept going.
#silverlinings https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0098948/
14) I'm dreaming of traveling again. Until then, I watch YouTube videos of driving or walking through places I want to visit (or miss), while following along with the map on my phone, and it's a lot like being there.
#QuarantineActivities
Downtown Chicago
#QuarantineActivities
Downtown Chicago
15) The human craving for art and beauty will create it, even in difficulty.
Here, a virtual choir from around the globe, making celestial music.
#QuarantineActivities
Here, a virtual choir from around the globe, making celestial music.
#QuarantineActivities
16) I'm convinced one can learn anything with some combination of Netflix, PBS, Amazon Prime, Khan Academy, and YouTube. Any. Thing.
17) I discovered Room Rater, which assigns a score for Skype and Zoom backgrounds, with hilarious commentary, and it made my week.
@ratemyskyperoom
@ratemyskyperoom
18) My son introduced me to these delectable @HEB jalapeño and cheese kolaches, and now I am carefully considering his punishment.
19) I'm a huge fan of @MarieKondo, and I have extra time at home... But I want to see a series where people know they should let go of certain things, but genuinely grieve over the very thought of it. That is *my* reality show. 
Only half of me wants to declutter. #bittertruth
Only half of me wants to declutter. #bittertruth
The thrill of having me home all day, every day, has apparently waned for The Cat. Putting fresh sheets on the bed is usually her favorite play activity 
, but she merely stretched from her nap, and put a paw over her eyes as if to say, "Can't you see I'm sleeping here?!"
, but she merely stretched from her nap, and put a paw over her eyes as if to say, "Can't you see I'm sleeping here?!"
21) After over a month in quarantine, the pursuits I simply don't find gratifying have become evident, *even when I have the time to do them.*
On the other hand, ability to enter flow in my thinking has led to new endeavors, such as experimental cooking and learning español.
On the other hand, ability to enter flow in my thinking has led to new endeavors, such as experimental cooking and learning español.
22) One diversion has become an obsession -- YouTube. DID YOU KNOW IT HAS EVERYTHING?
I fall down a virtual rabbit hole and learn obscure history, study skills, technology tips, and watch people with incredible patience for tedious crafts, like this:
I fall down a virtual rabbit hole and learn obscure history, study skills, technology tips, and watch people with incredible patience for tedious crafts, like this:
23) Without YouTube, what are the chances I would have discovered this lovely musician and her adorable Chihuahua? Betcha can't watch without feeling lighter.
This article about 70-year old Malinda Herman's inspiring story of turning a painful injury into musical joy includes a video of her adoring dog gently falling asleep to her soothing sound. 
https://shareably.net/woman-sings-to-dog/
https://shareably.net/woman-sings-to-dog/
24) I walked to the mailbox late last night, and oh, my word, the STARS in the night sky! Truly sparkling like diamonds, against a velvety black sky, the result of reduced human activity and pollution. #silverlinings https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-lockdown-starry-skies-emerge-night-sky-air-pollution-light/
25) My original purpose in this thread was to focus on positives during #Quarantine, but it seems disingenuous not to mention the tremendous and sometimes overwhelming sadness, also. Weeping at stories of strangers whose families, friends, and coworkers are grieving their loss.
