Productivity can be achievable as long as it’s in very small doses. Today is April 29.

I guess more than 10 hours of sleep is not enough for my body and mind because waking up this morning was not a fun experience. After finally dragging myself out of bed and putting on regular clothing, I decided to make myself some breakfast to help me wake up. I ended up having a bowl of oatmeal with honey, brown sugar and pecans. This is both a delicious and filling breakfast, but I guess it didn’t provide me with enough energy to keep me awake for long.

The internet at my house was out for some reason, so I ended up falling asleep on the couch in our living room because I couldn’t watch anything on Netflix and was too sleepy to read a book. I hadn’t meant to sleep for long, but the next thing I knew, my brother was answering the front door to welcome a Student Council committee. Apparently my mom, Robin Stover, had won a teacher superlative award for being there for students when they need someone.

 My family isn’t big on wearing normal clothing unless we are planning to be active or leave the house, so my mom was in sweats when she got the award. I think she was happy, though, even with the delivery group breaking social distancing protocol and definitely not being six feet apart from one another. Personally, I wish Student Council had let family members know when its members would be delivering the awards because then I would have been awake rather than napping when everyone showed up.

Once the kids had left, I had to take care of a dead bird that was on our front porch. It must have flown into our front window during last night’s storm. I used a shovel to pick it up and toss it into our woods. Dead animals always make me sad, and I hate having to be the one to dispose of them.

My brother is a late sleeper, so my dad offered to make him eggs for breakfast. I asked for an egg sandwich, but I considered it to be my lunch since I’d woken up just before noon. While I was eating, my mom figured out how to fix our internet. May 1 is the response deadline for three of the colleges I am interested in, so I completed a few supplementary information responses I had to send in.

With everything that is going on with the pandemic and the coronavirus, my plans for next year are up in the air at the moment. On the one hand, moving away for school and going to a small liberal arts college would be a nice change of pace. On the other hand, however, being in a familiar city and close to my family would provide me with a nice support network entering college in the fall. After I’d responded on the schools’ admissions portals, I also sent individual emails to each of the colleges outlining a few of the national awards I’d won since first submitting my application and talking about why I want to attend each school specifically.

After I’d finished that, my family and I decided to play a game of Spades. The last few games we’d played, my brother and mom had beaten my dad and me, so winning was a nice change of pace. Part of the game is skill and strategy, but another part simply boils down to the luck of the cards. With a strong combination of talent and luck, my dad had a solid winning streak.

We decided to take a break from cards after that game and watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. My mom had been wanting to watch it for a while. It wasn’t the most amazing film I’ve ever seen, but it was a fun movie that made me laugh and warmed my heart. I don’t tend to see movies in movie theaters, but I do enjoy watching at home with my family. 

Once the movie ended, we went our separate ways for a few hours. My parents and brother were wanting to finish a TV series they’d recently started called Halt and Catch Fire. While they were finishing the last couple episodes, I watched an episode of 911 on Hulu and an episode of Criminal Minds on Netflix. This latest Criminal Minds episode (season 11, episode 11) was probably one of my favorites so far. As much as I enjoy the fast-paced crime and action side of the show, I think the best episodes are the ones that are engaging and character-driven. I am excited to see where the season goes from here.

I think in this time of uncertainty, all of us need a little more love and support than usual. I am incredibly thankful to have such loving people in my life. As an introvert, I tend to isolate myself as a way to stay balanced, but sometimes I take it to an extreme where I can feel lonely and disconnected. I am grateful to have days where my family will find ways to include me and make me feel loved. I can only hope and wish for everyone else to have this same kind of support system, both now and always.

“There is no never … just long periods of not yet.” ― Solenn Heussaff

How did you spend your 43rd day of social distancing? Let us know in the comments below