Continuing to Find the Joy in Every Day Life

Hello, ladies, it’s Kimmie from The Young Lady’s Journal here! With the pandemic still on the rise, it can be hard to stay positive and happy every day. So much heartbreak and uncertainty about the future can weigh heavy on one’s heart, and lead to stress and doubt. However, it’s important to remember that each and every day is a gift, and you should live each day to the fullest.

Today’s article is going to be a bit more personal. I unfortunately broke my foot last month and needed surgery, and I still have a long road of recovery ahead of me. During my recovery, I have been restricted to staying home while I heal from my surgery. At first, I was devastated at my loss of independence and my new physical limitations of lots of bedrest and needing assistance with pretty much everything, but my parents, family, boyfriend, and friends have all been so supportive and caring during my recovery. All of the love and concern I have been getting during my recovery has warmed my heart, and has truly humbled me. Being homebound has allowed me to rediscover the joys of every day life from a new perspective. With the current pandemic, more people are also homebound these days, so I want to share some of the ways that I’ve been able to continue to find joy and stay occupied.

1. Spending Time with Family and Pets

With the busyness of school and work, it can be hard to set aside enough time for your family. Having family dinners can be a great way to unwind from a busy day and spend time with your loved ones. Even just a phone call to a loved one to catch up with them can go a long way. Ladies, it’s important to have open communication with your parents and loved ones about your life, relationships, and goals. Parents always have our best interests at heart, and even if we disagree with some of their advice, we need to keep in mind that their suggestions and opinions come from a place of love. Being at home more has allowed me to spend more time with my parents to have both serious and fun conversations. Also, being able to joke with my parents and ending up laughing until I’m crying reminds me of the love between a child and her parents. 

I also have the cutest lil pup at home, so being home during my recovery has allowed me to spend more time playing and snuggling with her! Pets can be a great companion, especially during recovery! According to the Mayo Clinic, “Animal-assisted therapy can reduce pain and anxiety in people with a range of health problems” (2020). If you’d like to read more about the benefits of pet therapy, their article is linked here.

2. Staying in Touch with Friends

Being “stuck” at home a lot of the time can make you feel alone and isolated from friends. With today’s technology, it’s so easy to stay in touch virtually! Texting or emailing is a quick and fast way to stay in touch with friends. Additionally, utilizing FaceTime and Zoom is great for video chatting! Zoom also allows you to screen share to watch videos with others or play games together. One game that is really fun to play with friends over Zoom is called skribbl. Skribbl is a free drawing and guessing game that you can play with up to twelve friends. 

3. Reconnecting with Old Friends

I recently was able to reconnect with one of my old elementary school friends and catch up with her on Instagram DMs. She’s happily married now, and we had the chance to chat about our significant others, our careers, and our lives. Being able to chat again like old times brought me so much joy and I plan to continue to stay in touch with her. With social media today, it’s easy to be able to find an old friend and message them. Ladies, you won’t regret reconnecting with an old close friend!

4. Watching TV Shows and Movies

Watching new TV series or movies on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, other streaming services, or on cable television can be a fun way to pass the time by yourself or in the company of others. There are plenty of educational documentaries you can watch, or you can browse through the many genres to find something entertaining to watch. I had previously watched Grey’s Anatomy in high school up until season 11. Grey’s Anatomy now has a total of 18 seasons, so I recently decided to rewatch the show on Netflix, starting from season 1 and am currently finishing season 3 right now. My boyfriend and I have also started to watch all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in timeline order on Disney+, and we left off on Iron Man 2.

5. Strengthening Your Faith and Enjoying the Outdoors

As a Catholic, I’m always looking for ways to strengthen my relationship with the Lord through prayer and other activities. If you’re a Catholic, I would recommend praying the rosary by yourself or with a loved one. My boyfriend and I have started praying the rosary together and it’s a way for us to worship the Lord together and strengthen our relationships with Him. Additionally, if you are unable to attend your church, you can still worship at home with online mass on your church’s website, Facebook profile, or YouTube channel. If your church doesn’t have online mass available, there are plenty of other churches that stream their weekly Sunday masses online.

As I mentioned in my previous article, I recently started watching the Bible in a Year Podcast on YouTube every day, and today was “Day 12: Isaac and Rebekah”. I had previously tried reading the Bible on my own, but struggled with fully understanding the meaning and purpose behind each chapter or verse, so utilizing a Study Bible that one of my friends in high school gave me was very helpful! Here is the Amazon link for the NIV, Life Application Study Bible that I have been utilizing. I have also found the Bible in a Year Podcast series to be useful because multiple chapters and verses are read during each video, and a prayer and reflection of what was read is provided by Father Mike after the readings. As a Catholic, I highly recommend these resources to guide your worship at home.

You can also try practicing mindfulness through meditation or yoga to strengthen your spiritual and mental health. Additionally, being outside in nature for a walk in the neighborhood or park, or going on a hike is a great way to get some fresh air and exercise. For me, my “walk” is via a wheelchair for now!

6. Unplugging

With all of today’s advances in technology and electronics, sometimes it can be a good idea to unplug for part of the day. This can include taking up a new or old hobby or activity again, such as reading, sewing, knitting, embroidery, and/or crafts. I plan to learn how to knit and embroider, but in the meantime, I’ve been able to get back into reading for pleasure. The last time I was able to curl up with a good book was back in high school before the busyness of college hit. My boyfriend’s mom mailed me two books after I first got injured: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I have already finished reading Redeeming Love and this is my new favorite book! It is beautifully written, and reading it honestly healed my soul and strengthened my faith in the Lord. I HIGHLY recommend reading this powerful book, as well as seeing the movie that just came out for the book! I just saw the movie a few days ago (in my wheelchair) with my parents and it was really accurate to the book. I definitely cried a few times during the movie and cried a handful of times while reading the book. I’ve also just started reading Little Women and it is an endearing story about sisters that is a classic read. I’d also recommend reading this book! Another fun activity with family and friends is playing board games, such as checkers, Clue, Battleship, Trouble, and LIFE.

Being “stuck” at home can be frustrating and lonely at times, but there are still so many ways to still find joy in every day life with worthwhile ways to spend your time.

I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, follow The Young Lady’s Journal on Facebook and Instagram. And on that note, this is Kimmie from The Young Lady’s Journal signing off!