This Earth Day, Let’s Reconsider Our Lawn Care

- Alexis Leave a comment
Purple wildflowers and weeks sprout up among blades of grass in a residential lawn

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Lately, while spending so much time at home, I’ve been thinking about the impact of our lawn and garden activities on our ecosystems. As I work in my dining room and go for walks around my neighborhood, I’ve become more aware of how many of my neighbors regularly have their lawns sprayed with synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The homogeneously green, weed-free grass might fit a contemporary perfectionist aesthetic, but I cringe each time I see a TruGreen or LawnDoctor truck roll down the street or notice the little flags in the yards designed to alert people that it was just sprayed.

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Some Upsides of Social Distancing, Part III

- Alexis Leave a comment
While practicing social distancing, the author's toddler looks at a goose from a few feet away

An important reminder: “We are all in the same boat. We are not all in the same storm.”

This is a continuation of my series on the silver linings of self-isolating. (Click for Part I and Part II.)

  • I’m using up things in my pantry. Limiting grocery shopping trips to once a week has encouraged me to be more creative and resourceful with the food I have. I’m turning excess fruits and veggies into smoothies, using flour and other staples to make baked goods and pancakes, and finding a purpose for random canned goods that have been sitting around for months or longer. I’m reducing food waste while also decluttering my cabinets
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Some Upsides of Social Distancing, Part II

- Alexis Leave a comment
A toddler sitting in the woods reaches his hand into a stream

This is a continuation of my series on the silver linings of self-isolating. (Click here for Part I)

  • It’s easier to prepare healthy meals. Believe me, I’ve eaten my share of junk food over the past month, thanks to anxiety, boredom, and always being so dang close to the fridge. But I’ve also prepared a number of nourishing meals. I’ve tried to stock my kitchen with healthy snacks like fresh and frozen produce, nuts, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. It’s easy to cook a real meal for lunch when I have access to a full kitchen and don’t have to plan ahead and remember to take a bunch of ingredients with me in the morning. I can start dinner earlier in the day and eat a freshly cooked meal at a decent hour — I don’t have to rush to get something on the table after getting home at 6:00 or later. By preparing more meals myself, I know exactly what’s in my food. I’ve also unintentionally eliminated fried food now that I’m not eating out much.
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Some Upsides of Social Distancing, Part I

- Alexis Leave a comment
Black and white photo of a toddler walking up stairs in a hillside

Here in my relatively isolated part of Tennessee, I’ve been doing the social distancing thing for about four weeks now. While my daily life has shifted drastically, I’m very lucky that I continue to have a steady salary, have not contracted the coronavirus, and have not lost any loved ones to COVID-19. I acknowledge that I write this post from a place of significant privilege, and my heart goes out to the many, many people who are suffering terribly because of the pandemic.

For the fortunate folks like myself, I think it helps to look on the bright side as much as possible. Adapting to this new (temporary) normal was challenging, and several weeks ago, I felt a lot of fear and anxiety. But I’ve settled into my current way of life, and it’s really not so bad. There are things that I miss, of course, but there are also significant secondary benefits to social distancing. In this series of posts, I’ll highlight some of the good things, as I see them. (I’m taking these a few at a time because finding the quiet time and focused energy to write long blog posts is is difficult now that I’m working from home with a toddler.)

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A Few Things That Are Helping Me Right Now

- Alexis 5 Comments
Man and child walking on a trail
It’s still safe and healthy to go outside.

Whew…what a whirlwind the last two weeks have been. I think I’ve read and heard the word “unprecedented” more in the last few days than in my entire life up to this point. We are all experiencing big changes and preparing for scary possibilities that seem to be growing more probable with each day. Worries abound, and maintaining some sort of normalcy right now is a real challenge.

A few of the daily habits I established at the start of this year are serving me well in recent days. Managing my mind has been particularly important — it’s easy to get caught up in the panic, read too many news articles, let nearly every conversation center on the virus and the economy, and lose focus on the tasks before me. To counteract these tendencies and combat anxiety, I’ve been doing the following:

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