Saturday was my 50th birthday and I had cancelled all of my plans (or should I say all of my travel plans were cancelled for me). I live alone and I have been sheltering in place for the last 2 ½ weeks. I had accepted that my plans would be different and I was trying to think of something small but significant for myself. Most of the ideas that I usually do.. dinner with girlfriends, get a massage or a spa treatment.. were out of the question.

Now I guess I could have ignored all of the rules and restrictions that have been put in place in the DMV. I could have asked people to put themselves or their family members at risk. However, I know how important health is so I would never do that. I wanted to be safe and do my part to help flatten the curve faster so we can all enjoy the normal acts that we are missing right now. Health is a top priority.

If I am honest, I was asking for a miracle, I completely understood the reality of this current situation and still prayed to have a really special day.

So, when my best friend from high school called and wanted to have a virtual toast on face time with her and another friend from college, I was happy about it. When my friends dropped off a bottle of champagne for me at my house, I was very thankful because they were so sweet to think of all the little details. When she sent me a zoom link, I didn’t think anything of it. I finally logged in and saw all of these faces. I was overcome with love for all the people staring back at me. My friends had gathered 40 of my friends and family to surprise me for my birthday. I was so grateful to see all the people that loved me. I helped to put into perspective how lucky I really am no matter what the circumstances.

In a time when I didn’t think there was a way to have a special birthday, my friends and family made a simple gesture of showing up. They shared their love for me and it brought me to tears of joy! When I least expected it, one of the most special moments in my life occurred.

Here is the message I want to leave you with. We are all giving up some of things we like to do, but there are creative ways to still enjoy these days and create special moments IF we are open to new ways of creating fun. Staying connected to our community, for example, supports our mental health and brings us joy.

We will get through this together, one day at a time, as long as we have community to connect to. I thought one of the ways we can encourage our Healthy Daes community to stay connected is through some Facebook Live classes. I am calling them Mindfulness Mondays: Regaining control of your health. I’ve included more details below but we’re excited for them to begin next Monday April 13th at 7pm!

Through it all, please be reminded we are here to help you simply and powerfully regain your health.