My cat Jesse likes to sit at the kitchen window and watch the little wren that is building a nest in the flower box outside the window. The bird goes about its business unfazed by the fascinated cat watching as the nest is being built.

I like watching the cat watch the bird. Why? Because it is unremarkable and ordinary. The “everyday-ness” of a cat occupied by a bird gives me comfort. In these days of quarantine and self distancing and isolation, when nothing is as it was a month ago, I want as much run-of-the-mill as I can find.

I do not grocery shop or put gas in the car or connect with family and friends the same way as I did a few weeks ago. And I miss that. So, I have made it a habit to appreciate the ordinary and embrace the routine as much as possible. 

When I walk the dog, I make sure I notice the trees in bud and the tulips blooming in my neighbor's yard and the smell of freshly cut grass. I no longer gripe about the laundry I have to fold or the vacuuming that needs to be done. Washing the car and sweeping the sidewalk and preparing flower beds for spring planting remind me that while much has changed, much has also remained the same.

I have new appreciation now for the uneventful and the mundane. I also wake up each morning and thank God for bringing me (and all of us) one day closer to the way things were before. I promise Him that I will no longer take my everyday life for granted. I think I found a cure to something that ailed me long before coronavirus became a threat.