One in every of my favourite e book bloggers / podcasters, Trendy Mrs. Darcy, hosts an annual dialog in February: What’s saving your life proper now?
February generally is a troublesome month. Relying the place on the earth you’re, it may be darkish, dreary, chilly, icy, dry, depressing. So, she encourages her readers to assume past the gloom and give attention to what’s retaining you afloat.
Here’s what’s saving my life proper now, in February 2026. And I’d like to know from you: What’s saving YOUR life proper now?
Soup
It appears so small, doesn’t it? A cup of sizzling soup with a slice of heat sourdough slathered in butter isn’t life altering, is it? Truly, I feel it is perhaps.
As I write this, a pot of spaghetti squash soup (that nobody in my household will eat as a result of nobody likes squash besides me) simmers on the range. Over the weekend, we had a roasted crimson pepper soup with melty grilled cheeses. Soup warms you up on these chilly, darkish days. If I’ve time to make it from scratch, my home fills with scrumptious smells. I merely love soup and will wax on, however you get the purpose. You may virtually name me a meals blogger. You shouldn’t. However you would.
Libby
I hate driving within the snow and ice. And at nighttime. Which mainly means I hate driving all winter lengthy. I used to keep away from studying on a pill as a result of I actually wished distance from screens after working hours. Nonetheless, I’ve seen the sunshine. I’m a convert. I like my pill, and I like studying on my pill due to Libby, the library app. I can end a e book and immediately try the following one. It delivers ideas based mostly on what you want, and it even contains each journal underneath the solar. Libby is saving my life as a result of I don’t should drive to the library and I by no means have a niche in my studying!
Present reads: Aristotle and Dante Uncover the Secrets and techniques of the Universe (on audio as a result of it’s learn by Lin Manuel-Miranda), the Purple Rising trilogy on the advice of my favourite teen librarian, and Canine Enrichment for the Actual World. Oh, and I simply purchased in hardback One Day, Everybody Will Have All the time Been In opposition to This so I can take notes and dig deeper as I learn.
My good friend, Jodi
A few of you in all probability know her or have adopted pet-friendly DIY’s on her incredible weblog. What you won’t know is that she has been my writing companion and accountability buddy since… I can’t even bear in mind when. Many, a few years. She retains me transferring ahead. She retains me sane. We share concepts and laughs and tears, and I’m truthfully unsure I’d have written something these previous 5 years of “unprecedented instances” with out my weekly date with my good friend, Jodi. When you haven’t had the pleasure of assembly her but, go observe her over on Instagram. Bunnies and birds are ready to welcome you!
My “journal ecosystem”
I do know, I do know. All of us have an excessive amount of occurring. We do. Our lives are stretched so skinny. And whereas I’m somebody who actively advocates for much less to do, fewer actions, extra clean house… actuality units in. Between work and faculty schedules, there are such a lot of issues to juggle. There’s the cyclical stuff: vet visits, dentist appointments, eye exams, physicals, oil modifications, canine coaching lessons, swim classes, karate, and so forth. After which there’s the additional stuff that comes with youngsters with disabilities: developmental pediatrician, OT, PT, eye specialists, neurology, audiology, peds ortho, and so on. Plus, in fact, the surprising: the Covid analysis adopted by the flu, a chilly right here and there, a number of snow days, a vomiting cat, a limping pet, a flat tire, and so forth. And I want to purchase mild bulbs and cat meals and order the canines’ flea and tick meds, scoop the litter containers, choose up prescriptions, stroll the canines, return a cellphone name, wash the dishes and the laundry. Are the ladies’ library books overdue? When did I final clip Penny’s nails?
I’m not particular on this. All of us have an excessive amount of on our plates, I do know. But when I didn’t have my planner, I might not get anyplace ever. Nothing would get accomplished. It’s my mind on paper.
I take advantage of the Hobonichi Cousin, which is ridiculously costly, nevertheless it incorporates month-to-month, weekly, and each day pages for your entire 12 months, plus locations to trace the whole lot and clean pages to retailer data, docs’ cellphone numbers, faculty data, and so forth. Is it extreme? Not for me! I might die with out it!
Then I additionally preserve actually detailed each day notes in this spiral pocket book that I’ll preserve shopping for time and again. I preserve notes on appointments, what I’m studying, what I’m considering, how I’m feeling, what I want to recollect to do in some unspecified time in the future, and so forth.
My journal and my planner save my life each single day.
Cat Cuddles
I like my canines. I like once they squish up towards me for heat snuggles, and I like once they climb into my lap for a sleep.
Nonetheless.
There’s nothing, and I imply nothing, extra cup-filling than a purring cat curled up right into a cat loaf in your lap. It’s soothing, comforting, and easily the most effective feeling to be the individual of a cat.
What’s saving your life proper now?
I’d love to listen to within the feedback under!
I’ve written these posts in 2018 (child Violet!), 2020 (child Astrid!), 2021, and 2022. I can’t account for the lacking years, nevertheless it’s fascinating to me that a number of of the gadgets every winter are the identical: books and the library, meals supply, neighborhood.