My Digital Happiness Box

On By Widow BadassIn COVID-19, Good Times, Hmmm?, Move to Vancouver Island
Seashell Jesus is my Wilson in these Trying Times of self-isolation. My steadfast companion as I catch up on the news. Read the Seashell Jesus story, here.
Closeup of the SJ. Blue-eyed, blond-haired hipster Jesus. Your typical middle-Eastern man of the period, obvs… 😉
I don’t mean to offend anyone. Seriously, I don’t think of this thing as a religious item. It’s just something I found in my building that makes me laugh because of how kitschy it is.

Greetings, fellow Social Distancers! I hope everyone is doing well in this new world of ours – staying safe, hydrated, and healthy – with enough toilet paper or alternatives on hand? I’ve had a week of mostly ups, with one big down since I last posted. Sunday was a bad day for me, when I became overwhelmed by all the goings on, and the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, I had some dear friends and family to speak with (safely, from a large distance) and that helped immensely.

I am not usually down in the dumps and I am afraid I don’t handle it very well due to lack of practice with this state, at least lately. But when Sunday happened, and after I was brought back to the present (where me and my loved ones are safe, warm, fed, and so far healthy), I remembered a “trick” I used in a very dark period of my life. Behold the Happiness Box:

Filled to bursting such that the lid no longer closes properly, this is my original Happiness Box. I have a second one as well, also filled to bursting.
Inside the Happiness Box is a collection of cards with loving inscriptions inside, assorted notes, ticket stubs, etc. To “break open in case of emergency”, and review until the desired effect is achieved! The Happiness Box is a proven performer.

I decided that now more than ever is the time to continue with this Happiness Box tradition of mine. Only I don’t want to collect any more physical representations (since I will be moving AT SOME POINT WHO KNOWS WHEN ANYMORE) so here are some things going into my digital Happiness Box for this week:

Rainbow captured on my chalkboard. This must happen every sunny day at my place but I have never caught it until now. A silver lining to being stuck at home, in self-isolation.
Enjoying a cup of tea and recalling the friend who thoughtfully gifted me with this beautiful mug. I had always kept it at work (where I felt I needed to reflect on its messages more…LOL) and now I get to enjoy at home. That’s my “rubber ducky” tea infuser in the background – another item that brings a smile to my face.
Finding a battery-powered drill in my closet (from when I gave myself gel manicures at home) and using it to shorten my dip powder nails, since I can’t go to the salon. And it still works!!!! What a relief, to be able to quickly shorten my growing-out nails!
I was thrilled I tell you. THRILLED!
The most delicious loaf of bread I have ever tasted. Crisp on the outside and delightfully chewy on the inside. A gift from a friend, who is also going to give me the recipe! Wheeeeee!
Seeing people social distancing at the drug store while waiting in line to pick up prescriptions. Good job, people! WAY TO GO.

Other “Happiness” moments from this week (no less important, just no photos to share):

  • daily video/phone chats with friends and family
  • laughing out loud watching Derry Girls, on Netflix (who knew Northern Ireland in the 90s could be so funny?)

And, finally:

How about you? How are you doing? How are you managing to keep spirits up in these uncertain times?

Or are you?

It’s OK to be down. These are scary, uncertain times.

Let’s help each other.

Rock on,

The WB

74 thoughts on “My Digital Happiness Box”

  1. Thanks for the Netflix tip Deb, always looking for new option, especially if they make you laugh!

    Deciding which closer I am going to clean out today😂. May get on my bike for some fresh air and outride anyone who gets closer than 2 metres!

    Reply

  2. Finding eggs and apples yesterday at the grocery store was a big part of my happiness. Today? Well…if it doesn’t rain might get out for a walk, that always works, even before all this craziness happened. If it rains, might paint some more cards. Or take a nap. Heck. I’m here all day, I can do both.

    Reply

    1. Hehehehe! We have a saying (my tenants and me) in this big ol’ former postal building that I rattle around in: The Building Will Provide… and it certainly did, yet again. As to my nails, I ordered a dip powder nail starter kit which should arrive today. Look forward to a post on how that goes…it could be glorious, funny, sad or all 3 😜. Thanks Suzanne💕

      Reply
  4. Jean R.

    I love the idea of a digital “happiness box”. I save things willy-nilly and I’m going to add a file with that name on it.

    I have a lot of kitschy seashell objects but yours is the perfect Wilson.

    Reply

  5. We did our weekly shopping this morning and it wasn’t so bad. I was able to get everything I wanted. I have learned to shop differently but it’s working. I had eggs so I was on the fence about getting another dozen. I bought them. You can do a lot of things with eggs and all are good!

    Reply

  6. You have the soul of a true survivor … finding joy and inspiration wherever you can 🙂

    The people respecting a safe distance at your drug store are behaving better than some of those I’ve seen recently! 😡 For the second time in a week I’ve had to tell someone to step away.

    Reply

          2. Well, that wasn’t the word I was thinking. But I am already on thin, blasphemous ice with The SJ, so I am trying to behave although the fucker clearly doesn’t deserve it. Oops…

  8. I love this idea so much!! A digital happiness box! I have a physical box that has picture of things that make me happy but this is “new age”.
    Ah the Wilson Jesus picture // took me a minute to get it.
    I had a tough couple of hours yesterday after we saw the news detailing what health care workers are facing and the impact on them. Those are my friends and colleagues and I feel bad for them and guilty that I sit here safely at home. Laid off from my private health care job I could offer my services but my age puts me at risk. It’s a pickle to be sure and is giving me much pause for thought. Thanks for the reminder it’s ok to have down times // I’m a pretty upbeat kind of person and like you don’t do down well. Tend to fall into a deep hole and then best myself up getting out. thankful it doesn’t happen much.
    Stay safe, stay apart but great connections!
    Bernie

    Reply

    1. Thank you Bernie 💕 When you are generally a strong person, people don’t realize that you need help from time to time too. I’m in the risk category myself. I read a statistic yesterday that said people 55-64 have a 20-30% chance of being hospitalized if coming down with COVID. Yikes! That is way too high for me and keeps my ass firmly planted alone in the house.

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the support. I believe my answer will be to not jump into the frey but it does induce guilt feelings for sure. I have given 39 years of my life to being on the front line.

        Reply

          1. It’s hard // for 39 years I dropped everything and went when they called. Rarely did I say no to a request to come in. But my skillset is so specialized and the OR isn’t busy so what would I do?Stuff I have no training for. That’s what makes it easier to rest easy.

  9. I like your Happiness Box because it makes you happy and that makes me happy for you. Your solution to your nail problem is brilliant. I have yet to venture into a grocery, but I hope that I’ll be as fortunate as you to find a dozen eggs when I get the nerve to go into one. I’ve got to check out Derry Girls. Thanks for mentioning it.

    Reply

    1. Pro tip: turn on the English subtitles when watching Derry Girls. Unless you are familiar with people who speak very quickly with an Irish accent. I am not. Thanks Ally💕

      Reply

  10. I love that first photo. There’s a lot of character in it. And I think Seashell Jesus is beautiful in a strange sort of way, so I can understand why you held onto him. It almost makes me want to convert. But be careful, I noticed you weren’t keeping a six foot distance from poor ol’ Jesus.

    Reply

    1. Thank you TG💕 The SJ has been in self-isolation since Christmas 2016 and I have been keeping pretty much to myself since I got back from Barbados in February so we feel good about hanging out together, alone.

      Reply

  11. I love your happiness box, Deb! I am with you and usually a cup half full person. I find I have been having some dark moments and then I shake them off. Usually a reward with a video chat with a loved one helps. The children do it for me, since I will suck it up for them. We basically discuss the priorities, stay mentally and physically healthy and then do you have enough food. I am a Mother. I extra love your idea of the digital happiness box. Third time this week I have heard about “Derry Girls.” Yes, help each other out. Look forward to staying connected. 💕

    Reply

    1. Thank you Erica💕 For me, the importance of the digital Happiness Box right now is the NOTICING. Noticing the beauty and good things still happening even though we are all uncertain, we are all a little (or a lot) scared. Definitely seeing friends and loved ones is one of those good things and thanks to technology we still can, even during quarantine and social distancing. Looking forward to our video later on!

      Reply

  13. I love the happiness box, definitely. I have my own, though it’s more of a folder, and I’ve been going through it lately. Isn’t it amazing when the past speaks back to you? Kudos to all those waiting in the pharmacy line! – Marty

    Reply

  14. Hi, Deb – One of my friends used to say “Never let yourself get too lonely…or too hungry!”
    I 100% agree with you on the importance of dear friends and family to connect with. I was also delighted to see that delicious looking bread and would LOVE the recipe. Great score on the eggs!

    Reply

  15. More cooking and walking here. Tried a new recipe that I got from Janis@RetirementallyChallenged and it was delish. I might have to blog about it. I’m pretty impressed with you for trimming your nails with that tool Yikes!!

    Reply

  16. Hello-hello over on this medium, Lovely One! Am finding the same joy here with my home-manicure and bread-baking. Am putting in a request that you share above-mentioned bread recipe when you can. Do take care, and enjoy whatever you can as you can safely!
    del, south about 1,000 miles from you!

    Reply
  17. AJ Blythe

    I love the idea of a happiness box, Deb. I think it’s important in these times to find something to make you smile everyday – having something at hand for a bad day is a great idea.

    Reply

  18. “(since I will be moving AT SOME POINT WHO KNOWS WHEN ANYMORE)” — omg, I am in the same boat. It is so weird!

    I love the idea of the happiness box. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

  19. Deb, love the idea of a Happiness Box and like physical albums of yesterday it was inevitable that your Happiness Box would become a digital box. Your quirkiness from rubber ducky to your impromptu nail drill and your delight with that, shines through!!

    Couple of points you made caught my attention: the social distancing in the drug store with the blue tape on the ground… that’s very good to see and a clever way to enforce distancing. Nothing like that here in Mexico. People here are so far pretty oblivious to Corona whatsoever…

    But also interesting is the comment about scoring a box of eggs. Amazing how we start to appreciate things when they are no longer easily accessible. I read that bread is running out in many parts of the U.S. but the interesting component is that many are now starting to bake their own! As a global traveler it has always irked me how North Americans have looked down on countries like Cuba or Russia and often referring to “long bread lines in Socialist countries” as though it was a determinant of an ill performing economic system. The reality is that supply chains are rather fragile and it doesn’t take much of a disruption before the food supply chain starts to contract.

    Ben (and Peta)

    Reply

    1. Thank you Ben and Peta💕 I believe in Canada that the shortages are not due to any fragility of the supply chain, but instead solely due to panicking consumers resorting to hoarding. And the stories of people running from store to store to buy up all the sanitary items to resell at grossly inflated prices are humanity at its worst. Thankfully selling platforms such as Amazon are not allowing these people to resell these items so this should discourage some of this from happening.

      Reply

  20. OMG! I want that loaf of bread. It looks delicious. I am so all about that virtual happiness box. I’ve been adding to mine ever since I gave away all my stuff in 2011. Daily connections with friends and family are definitely getting me through the present moment as are efforts to learn new things, and create. That pharmacy pic is a scary new normal that I hope becomes a ‘remember when we had to do that?” soon. Love Seashell Jesus.

    Reply

  21. Thank you for your intimate personal sharing & the message of hope in these crazy times.

    And for sharing the idea of the Happiness Box, and your Digital Box. Tech is such a wonderful thing and this is really exploiting it in our time of need.

    Sending you a big virtual hug!

    Reply

  22. Pingback: Faux Pas in Self-Isolation: It Could Only Happen to Me - THE WIDOW BADASS BLOG

  23. debscarey

    Derry Girls is absolute gas (Irish for hilarious for those who’ve not seen it). I’m very much looking forward to the next series.

    Your Happiness Box is a delight. I have a couple of boxes like that which I refer to as my Boxes of Treasures. I may have a scrabble under the bed to find the oldest one which is filled with little notes & drawings from my daughter when she was small – especially as I’m not able to see her (and her daughter) at the moment which is the thing making me most sad.

    Reply

  25. Deb, I thinks that’s a great approach to cheering yourself up — noticing the little things that bring you joy, such as rainbow on the chalkboard, and scoring a dozen eggs. I do the same thing. Like right now, I have a dozen orange and yellow tulips in a vase in the kitchen, and my heart leaps every time I see them.

    When I was packing to move here after I retired, I went through weeks of sorting through boxes, and looking at old mementos such as my children’s art and schoolwork, my own childhood art, and other items saved from the past was a deeply emotional experience. It’s odd how I had saved it all for so many years, but so rarely taken the time to look through it.

    Jude

    Reply

  26. I am stalking your blog (for good reason and I am in the states so you don’t need to worry about me) and now I have another show to watch (Derry Girls)! Yay for unexpected surprises! But I am laughing at 9 am about Seashell Jesus being your Wilson. You were such an excellent find in 2020.

    Reply

    1. ☺️ Thank you, Kari 💕 And thank you for reminding me about Seashell Jesus. I may have to “resurrect” 🤣 him from my storage locker, just in time for the holidays, Pandemic-version.

      Reply

  27. Pingback: It Was But A Trifle, M’Dear #virtualteaparty2021 – THE WIDOW BADASS BLOG

Here's where the magic happens. I love comments!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.