Keep Yourself Alive

When I was in college, I worked Summers in a grocery store. There was an old man who would come in around the same time every morning, and he'd always buy the same things: 2 slices of fresh cheese, 4 slices of lunchmeat, and a loose kaiser roll. I used to look forward to seeing him regularly, and I'm pretty sure he used to look forward to seeing us. In hindsight, I think working the smallest amount of extra activity or human interaction into his life might have been keeping him alive.

Why am I telling you this? Because more than a week after 30 Days of Biking has ended, I've managed to keep my daily biking streak alive (49 consecutive days, according to Strava). Even with no real challenge associated with the activity, it feels good to say "I rode my bike today," and it's been helping me keep some semblance of sanity in this decidedly insane time. Or you could say, it's keeping me alive.

I know there are a lot of you out there who are starting to go a little crazy with this whole situation we're experiencing right now. It is seemingly dragging on forever even though it's only been about 2 months since major closures started taking effect. Still, I'm right there with you. I miss so many things that I (we) took for granted. Going out to eat. Going to sporting events. Going to events in general. Visiting family. And the list goes on. Keeping a semblance of order and routine is important, and even if it's repetitive, doing something productive is good for the mind, body, and soul.

I've been re-visiting a lot of the same businesses over the last couple months, and once again, if I can work it into a bike ride, it feels like I'm doing more for myself than just supporting the local economy.

I've noticed an interesting trend happening in the last week or so as I've been frequenting the same places repeatedly: the minimal staff that are working have started looking forward to seeing me just as much as I look forward to seeing them.

I have a history of this in my family, actually. My grandfather lived to be 93 and rode a bike to get his mail every day until about 6 months before his death. He lived in a development and their mailboxes were all in one location, which was about a half mile from their house. He didn't have to do this, but he made a point to do it. I think making his daily routine active contributed to his longevity. Old man, I'm a lot like you.

Some days are better than others. I'm putting all of this out there in hopes that you'll be reminded of things you can do to feel good during this time, beyond the obvious washing hands and exercising caution and so on. I'm speaking more about not letting your spirit languish. I'm not a ball of sunshine most days, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of finding something positive (riding a bike is my example, of course). The most difficult thing a lot of us are fighting right now is our own depression, and I believe we can get through this. So have a good weekend, and keep yourself alive.