I read several blogs about books. One of the ones that I turn to regularly is Modern Mrs. Darcy. Yesterday she posed the question of what is saving us right now? At first, my response was reading. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that was not actually true.

Though I read many books, the thing that is keeping me sane right now is getting in touch with the things that I walked away from. Over the years, I realized that I have pulled into my protective shell and stopped doing the things that I enjoy. I have been going through a period of shutting down for the last ten years. I have made very few quilts or done much sewing at all, I have stopped singing as much as I did in the past. I even remember picking my daughter up from college, and on the drive home, she wanted to sing with me. I didn’t; it was almost as though I couldn’t. I felt an almost solid wall between me and what I wanted to do.

Lately, I have started hooking my tablet up to some speakers and playing my music in the mornings. I have also been singing along with the music more. Dancing in the kitchen has started again. I dance around the kitchen and periodically grab whoever is near me to dance. My daughter said that she is really enjoying waking up to me singing in the kitchen.

The sewing is a little harder. My tiny house where the sewing machine lives is a bit too cold right now. And I am not always up for going out to start a fire to warm the place up. I have started sewing by hand again, and that is nice.

I am still reading. That is a huge part of keeping me sane. I have been reading a lot of books that I have already read. I am trying to find that comforting and safe place that familiarity brings. I read some nonfiction, but I have to say that nonfiction is the largest part of my To Be Read shelf. To fix that problem, I took inspiration from my oldest son and created a calendar of books. Each month I have a new nonfiction book to read. I also have an alternate if I finish earlier than the end of the month or can’t finish it. This month I am reading an engaging book on earthworms; the backup book is on eels.

Between the virus and social distancing and the fact that it is winter and I am always cold, I have struggled more with depression. It gets lonely avoiding people, as I am sure many people realize. Looking at what I am doing to stay sane at this time of year has taken on new significance.

What are other people doing to stay sane through the winter and social distancing?