March was such a turbulent month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Where I live, event cancellations, business closures, and school closures have been happening since March 13 to slow the spread of the virus.
The Province of Ontario has ordered all non-essential businesses to close since March 25 until further notice. The City of Toronto has cancelled all events and festivals until June 30. This means my family and I are prepared to live our new “normal” in a much quieter city for the long haul.
I had planned a trip to Spain, leaving on March 16. Fortunately, the airlines cancelled my flights on March 12 and gave me full refunds. I was able to cancel my hotel bookings without penalty. I’ve been feeling grateful every day.
Since March has thirty one days, I thought I’d list 31 things that I’m grateful for:
- Being at home.
- Being healthy.
- My family: Everyone is well.
- My friends: Everyone is well.
- Access to clean water, fresh food, and a warm home.
- Access to a phone, a computer, electricity, and internet service.
- Quiet time to reflect.
- Opportunities to cheer up my friends.
- Opportunities to help my elderly neighbours.
- The first signs of Spring, a new season.
- The trail by Lake Ontario.
- Outdoor walks to exercise.
- The changing weather: sun, clouds, and rain.
- The clear blue skies.
- The sounds from birds, ducks, and swans.
- The warmth of the sun on my back.
- The soft petals of spring flowers.
- Meditation time.
- My resistance band for strengthening exercises.
- Yoga practice time.
- Free public art to view.
- My blogging community.
- Books to read.
- Free online concerts to listen to.
- Free online shows to watch.
- Free online courses to take.
- New recipes to try.
- Home-made meals with my family.
- Being an introvert.
- My morning coffee.
- My afternoon tea.
Every item on my list makes me feel calm and smile.
Thank you, my blog friends, for reading. I hope you and your loved ones are in good health and are adjusting well to the current situation. I’d love to hear from you.
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Natalie the Explorer 
Lovely post, Natalie. I’m grateful my family is healthy and for the doctors and nurses. Stay well! ❤
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Hi Jill, I’m glad to hear your family is healthy. I’m grateful for the doctors and nurses, too. I’m trying to help them by staying well. Wishing you and your family continued good health.
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I felt calmer after reading through your list, thank you Natalie. In addition to having healthy family and friends at this point, I am thankful that I live in a beautiful area with miles of walking trails. I do miss setting foot on our local beaches, as they are currently all closed, but I know they will still there when this is all over. And in the interim I can still see the ocean in the distance, an amazing gift for which I am thankful daily.
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Hi Tamara, I’m familiar with Orange County geography so I know what you mean by having a beautiful area with miles of walking trails and views of the ocean. It’s an amazing gift for sure. I was hoping to meet you and Mike to share a meal at one of OC top eateries in May but that trip is now cancelled after my friends’ reunion is cancelled. I’m still hopeful to revisit OC when it’s safe to do so. Thank you for stopping by.
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Hi, Natalie – Your post is a great reminder that we have so much to be grateful for.
Wishing you and your family peace and good health.
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Hi Donna, Peace and good health to you and your family, too. It’s another beautiful spring day here today. Thank you for staying in touch. I greatly appreciate your comments.
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Interesting on the intorvert. I have noticed some of my extroverted friends are struggling more to adjust. I think for us introverts it will take longer before the difficulties hit. Currently we are still business as usually (tho I have started zooming with a group of friends a day – different ones, where as normally that would be a once a month catch up).
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I think in places that have strict lock-down and complete closures of non-essential businesses, the extroverts struggle sooner than introverts. It’s a challenging time and staying connected helps.
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Yes, I also think how upturned your normal is. I work from home anyway so it’s not such an impact. My husband who had lots of face to face meetings seems to notice it more…#Lifethisweek
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Yes, the bigger the change, the stronger the reaction, and it may take longer to adjust. Wishing you and your family well.
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That’s a really positive way to look at it. I guess that’s one thing we can control at the moment – how we choose to look at this.
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I think focusing on what’s within our control and what we have (as opposed to what we don’t have) helps manage stress a lot.
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Hi Natalie – I loved your list – lots of simple little things that make this weird time a lot more bearable. I could certainly tick most of them for myself too. Blessings are everywhere if we look for them. x
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Exactly, Leanne. I feel very grateful atm. Every day I celebrate the simple things that bring me joy. Thank you for stopping by.
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31 fabulous reasons to be grateful. Love your list Natalie. xo
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Thank you, Min. Stay safe and healthy. xo
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I’d add doctors, nurses and carers to that list, as well as all the staff who work in supermarkets and those who continue to work in getting food to the shops for us, Natalie. And not forgetting the delivery drivers, too and those who work in pharmacies. All of these people have taken the place of actors, sports stars and celebrities. Now they are the superstars. I hope they will forever stay there. Without them all, we’d truly be in a worse situation.
Stay safe!
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Yes, Hugh, I’m grateful for the healthcare professionals and front line workers who provide essential services and products to us. In my neighbourhood, we’re banging pots from our windows or front entrance at 7 PM every day to show our appreciation.
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Everyday? Wow! We’re only doing that once a week on a Thursday evening at 8pm in the UK. I’d definitely do it every night. I hope we catch up with the rest of you guys.
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The daily ritual of support for front line health care workers has become popular across Ontario, where people are organizing under the hashtag #Cheer4HealthWorkers.
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Lovely list 💖
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Thank you, Saania. Hope you’re staying healthy.
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My pleasure, Natalie. I’m okay, I hope you’re too! 💜
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I’ll bet you could have come up with even more, Natalie. It seems strange in this time of a pandemic that there is still so much to be thankful for. It’s so important to keep in mind, to stay balanced and hopeful. We’ll need that strength when this is over. A lovely post to remember to be present. 🙂
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Thank you, Diana, for your visit and comment. Yes, I can go on and on with my list of gratitude. I agree with you that we need to stay balanced and hopeful. Have a nice weekend!
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Yes, Natalie, feeling grateful every day. I love everything on your list, especially #22. I am curious about #26, if it is easy for you to share. Take care and stay healthy and we will stay connected. We are all in this together.xx
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Hi Erica/ Erika, Excellent prompt about #26. I have a list of organizations that offer free online courses that I can put into a post to share. Some examples: Open Culture, EdX, Coursera, Khan Academy, Duolingo, CreativeLive. The Toronto Public Library also lists more resources such as Mango for languages, Lynda.com for general courses. My universities send me list of webinars. My bank also offers webinars. Many world class museums and cultural organizations have free online tours or exhibits. Close to home: The Virtual Museum of Canada is an excellent place to browse for free. Enjoy exploring and learning! If you find something you like from my list of online resources, I’d love to know. xx
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Hi Natalie, I copy/pasted your information. Despite completely self isolating on Day 22 now, I am busier than ever. I find it is healthy for me to continue finding interesting things. I also feel every day of our life is important versus just being in a hold pattern. You strike me as a like-minded person. Although, I am still in awe as to how much you accomplish in a month. 🙂 Thank you, again! Take care.xx
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You’re welcome, Erica/ Erika. I agree that every day of our life is important. Curiosity and a keen interest in exploring and learning are some of the key components to living well. Stay safe and healthy!
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We do have so much to be grateful for. We should all make a list! Thank you for the inspiration.
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You’re welcome, Maria. Our list of gratitude keeps things in perspective. Thank you for stopping by.
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Read your list a few times to try pick a favourite….they are all good, and all bring balance
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Thank you for your visit and comment. Typing up my gratitude helped me stay grounded. I’ll visit your blog shortly.
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This has definitely been a period where we spend more time with our families.
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Once we adjust to the new routine, we’re OK. Hope you and your family are doing well. Thank you, Colline, for stopping by.
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This is a fantastic idea, thank you! I think I will do this once I’ve made my coffee rounds!
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You’re welcome, Kathleen. I’m glad you liked my idea. Writing down or typing up a list of what we’re grateful for lets our mind focus on positive things.
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This is a great list Natalie. Thanks for reminding us of so many things that are often so easy to forget or take for granted.
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You’re welcome, Gary. Writing down or typing up a list of what we’re grateful for lets our mind focus on positive things. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe and healthy!
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Great post, I love the positivity because it is a nice reminder that even in all this chaos there is still so many things to be thankful for. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you, Shari, for your comment. I think focusing on positive things that we have is good for our mental health and keeps things in perspective.
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Love this Natalie and as always you bring positivity to my day. Life may be difficult at the moment but you have given 31 reasons why you are grateful and it certainly is an exercise we should all make time to do. Thanks for always inspiring me! #lifethisweek
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I’m glad you found my post inspiring, Sue. We support each other to get through this difficult time. I find thinking about the positives takes my mind off the grim news and keeps things in perspective for me. Have a good week!
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It’s a small ray of sunshine that the airlines refunded your tickets – that is good news.
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Yes, the 100% refund was great news and they did it within four business days. I was impressed.
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Natalie, this is such a beautiful idea. To acknowledge the one thing you’re grateful for each day in a post. I’d love the borrow this idea!
SSG xxx
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I’m glad you liked my idea, SSG. Feel free to share what you’re grateful for each day in a post. I’d appreciate if you could mention my blog.
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You’re so right Natalie, there’s so much to be thankful for and I love your way of looking at it! #lifethisweek
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Thank you, Deb, for your comment. After about a week of urgent pandemic news, I put my positive thinking hat on and started taking positive actions. I feel better once I list what I’m grateful for.
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Greetings from Australia, Natalie!
You’re post was very encouraging and it’s so important that no matter what is going on, there are still beautiful things in the world and that the sun and moon are still there if you’re really struggling to find any sense of permanency or routine. This strategy was challenged during the severe bushfires we had here during the Summer when the moon turned an eerie pink and we weren’t in the bushfire zone where we lived.
I wrote a post today which listed links to various free online performances etc because I was grateful to find them and thought others would enjoy them as well. There’s even a link to feeding a baby koala at the zoo.: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/every-home-is-now-a-stage/
At the same time, at times, I feel quite overwhelmed and deeply saddened by what this virus is doing to so many people and their families and friends. It’s heartbreaking. I had chronic lung disease already, so regular colds and bronchitis can be nasty and I’ve had pneumonia once and that was a close call. I don’t know how long we’re going to stay locked up at home for and I’ve heard talk of Christmas and the prospect of not seeing my mum and dad and close friends all that time is very daunting. However, that’s getting ahead of things, especially here in Australia where so far, we’re running a different race to other countries.
I always try to follow a negative with a positive. I’ve had a lot of medical treatments over the years and I used to go for coffee down by Sydney Harbour afterwards as a treat and to help balance up the scales again, a process many of us are struggling with atm.
Thanks very much for the chat.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Greetings from Canada, Rowena! Thank you for your visit and comment. I’m glad you found my post encouraging. I hear your health concerns. I hope you stay safe and healthy until the virus spread is under control. I find keeping a routine that includes getting some fresh air, exercises, meditation, yoga, and light leisure activities every day makes me feel good. Thank you for sharing the links. There are certainly many free online resources to keep us entertained and educated.
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This terrible E word keeps haunting me…exercise. I let it slide for a few days and of course now when I’m experiencing cabin fever, it’s wet and miserable. I think I’m still going to try to get out there for a walk. Be brave. I’m becoming abit of a couch princess at home. Even ordered myself some more pyjamas yesterday. Figured hey’re going to be my wardrobe for the foreseeable future.
Take care & best wishes,
Rowena
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There are gentle stretches that one can do at home. Walking in the rain can be soothing unless it’s pouring rain and strong winds. Wishing you a pleasant day no matter what you choose to do. Take care.
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Number 29 is actually well suited to our current situation. I call myself an extroverted introvert. The reality is, I can only “people” for a few hours (albeit in an extroverted way) then I have to dive into my safe place with plenty of time on my own. The Covid pandemic is well suited to us introverts, that’s for sure.
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We all have some introversion and extroversion. Introverts have less adjustments to make when we suddenly have to self-isolate or stay at home and all non-essential businesses are closed. It could be problematic for introverts who live with others and now everyone is at home without enough space to spread out. From your photos of your new home, I don’t think this is an issue.
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I am unsure why, but my comment needed me to log in to WordPress…and I detest their system – it hates me (it’s your security I know!!) …so I am back. Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week’s optional prompt is 15/51 Share Your Snaps #3 13.4.2020 Happy Easter. Stay Safe. Stay Home. Stay Well. Denyse.
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Denyse, Sorry to hear you had issues with WordPress. I thought your blog is also on WordPress dot com and if so, it should be easy to leave comments on another WP blog. Once your first comment on my blog is approved (which it was a while ago), your subsequent comments display automatically without requiring my moderation. I hope the issue clears up for you. Thank you for hosting LTW. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Very nice list of things to be grateful for. March was a tough month, April isn’t turning out much better. I guess we’re in it for the long haul and remembering our blessings will help.
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Thank you, Dawn, for your comment. I mentally prepare myself for the long haul and thinking about what I’m grateful for helps. Hope you’re well.
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