December 2020
by Tom Swift
31 Thursday
- The healing power of exercise.
- Resistance training for longevity.
- Cafe coffee.
- A hard-won draft.
- Learning about the law.
- The promise of white chicken chili and ciabatta bread.
- New Year’s Eve.
- 2020. Yes, really.
- When Harry Met Sally.
29 Tuesday
- The people who administer COVID-19 tests.
- One thing that’s working: you can go get a test without leaving your car.
- When you trudge through a book’s first half, wondering how you are ever going to get through, then find yourself learning and thinking in new ways during the second half.
- Ibuprofen.
28 Monday
- Sick days when you need them.
- A boss that understands.
- Care without leaving home.
- Capsule Pharmacy.
- Getting to sleep through the night.
- Ricola.
- Television.
- Hot chicken soup.
27 Sunday
- Clarity.
- Contribution.
- Walks while it snows.
- Melatonin.
- Fierce Attachments.
- Simple Human.
- Your dog’s old blanket.
- Your job.
- Vitamin C.
26 Saturday
- A good night of sleep.
- Green tea.
- Honey.
- Hot drinks on a cool throat.
- Hunger.
- Day-old spaghetti. With meatballs.
- Wit.
- Moments when you realize that you like yourself.
- Moments when you can see an ailment’s end.
- Commitments.
- The smoke that emits from your neighbor’s chimney.
25 Friday
- Movies. On a day when you are sick.
- Hot tea.
- A little buddy ready to cuddle.
- Tylenol.
- Alan Rickman.
- The sweet final moments of Christmas Day, when it’s over but it’s not. You can still here Christmas music — the bells are still ringing — for just a little while longer.
24 Thursday
- Charlie Brown Christmas music.
- An unexpected gift.
- The postal service.
- Safe at home with the little buddy during a snow storm.
- Landing the week well.
- Time.
- Snowplow personnel.
- Freedom.
- Having enough.
- Christmas Eve.
23 Wednesday
- Extra dough.
- Moist cookies.
- Mr. Keating.
- Farmer carries.
- Melatonin.
- Ginger.
- Keeping an open mind.
- Colored Christmas lights.
- Homemade hamburgers.
22 Tuesday
- Morning movement.
- Winter.
- Writing while walking.
- Walking in new places.
- A tired dog.
- A hungry dog.
- Surprise cookies.
- Opportunities. Ideas. Dreams.
- Pink skies.
- Kale for breakfast.
- Acceptance.
21 Monday
- Simple Human.
- Simple things.
- The gift of laughter.
- Balmy days.
- Walking and talking.
- A new era.
- Krinkle-cut fries.
- A new (to you) cookie: the kringla.
- Kind neighbors.
- Holiday weeks.
- Jupiter. Saturn. Old friends. Together again.
20 Sunday
- The Winter Solstice.
- The brevity of wit.
- Saying just enough.
- Taking a phone break.
- When in doubt, read.
- Frank Deford.
19 Saturday
- The gift of sharing.
- Feedback. The internal kind.
- Having others you can rely on.
- The clarity of time.
- Moments of freedom.
- French fries.
18 Friday
- This moment.
- Letting go of the one just past.
- Your couch.
- Opportunities to expand self-awareness.
- Sorting through the disparate parts of you to find the one you like best.
- Lentil soup to dunk your bread in.
17 Thursday
- Sleeping through the night.
- Morning: the best time of the day.
- Shared experience. Even while tired.
- Having enough.
- Increasing your security.
- Being a hoarder of the right things.
- Knowing you have a break coming soon.
- Living on the edge: buying a new (to you) variety pack of oatmeal.
16 Wednesday
- Your beating heart.
- The feel of your fingers.
- Alpha waves. Beta, too.
- Morning water.
- Making it to payday.
- One good conversation.
- Your journal.
- Morning motivations.
- Brown rice and beef because it’s there.
15 Tuesday
- Morning clarity.
- The chance to teach.
- Your neuroses.
- The heat.
- Hot tea.
- Long underwear.
- Your passion.
- Making decisions.
- The sounds your dog makes when he dreams.
- Getting by.
14 Monday
- Morning greetings.
- Evening chats.
- Morning warmth.
- Evening cool.
- Bodyweight squat challenge.
- The compound effect of daily pushups.
- Eating through the fridge.
- Morning meditation.
- Bruce Springsteen’s Letters to You.
- Honey.
13 Sunday
- Making it to the other side.
- A reprieve.
- The chance to rest.
- The Democracy Coalition.
- Salad.
- Walks you squeeze into a work day.
- When your dog can work with you.
- Steve Schmidt.
- Remembering who you are.
- Slow-cooked chicken thighs.
- Sundays.
12 Saturday
- Water.
- Being uncomfortable.
- Doing your own thing.
- Supporting yourself.
- Whipped cream.
- Reading time.
- Having the park to yourself.
- Helping out a stranger.
11 Friday
- Opportunities.
- Early morning writing.
- Your dog’s yawn.
- Your dog’s sigh.
- Short days.
- A made bed.
- A hungry stomach.
10 Thursday
- Being trusted.
- Being good.
- Being asked.
- Pepperoni pizza cooked just right.
- A quick game of ball. Outside. In December.
- Jerry Seinfeld.
- 100 push-ups a day.
9 Wednesday
- Having a little buddy with you while you work.
- Dancing with yourself.
- Hearing the nicest thing.
- Apples and blueberries.
- Big dinners.
8 Tuesday
- Reasonable people.
- Understanding people.
- How you deal with difficult people now.
- Hamburger night. With tater tots.
- Sumo squats.
- How soft your dog still is.
- Ibuprofen.
- Tea that makes you sleepy.
7 Monday
- The theme to Hill Street Blues.
- The idea of America.
- The men and women who fought and died for that idea.
- The men and women who fight today for that idea.
- Bones your dog does flips over.
- The compound effect of meditation.
- Garlic shrimp.
6 Sunday
- Extra reading time.
- Evening stretching.
- The nap that was calling you.
- Finally finding someone who can article precise benefits from meditation — and how you experience them.
- Long walks with no wind.
- Oatmeal for dinner.
- Lenny & Squiggy.
5 Saturday
- Moments of bliss.
- When you know you’re going to get there.
- Corn-chip chili. With cheese.
- Working at home.
- Winging it.
- Ending a busy week in a really good place.
- The confidence that comes from repetition.
- Salad kits.
4 Friday
- Your house!
- That you get to go for walks right after work.
- When your little buddy sleeps on your lap.
- When you realize you do have a box of macaroni and cheese in the cupboard, and just in time to become a dinner side.
- The feedback you get from inside about what is right for you to say and do.
- The last twenty-five pages of a book.
- The home-stretch of a busy week.
3 Thursday
- Your ability to hear.
- The learning that occurs when you ask good questions.
- Fast days.
- Broccoli slaw.
- Getting over hump day during a busy week.
- Falling asleep without trying.
- Hemp shakes.
2 Wednesday
- Free time.
- The absence of a usual stress.
- Happy dog.
- A good report.
- A lesser bill.
- Cereal as a midnight snack.
- Hours that fly by.
- A warm bed.
1 Tuesday
- The promise of the morning.
- Playtime.
- Deep sleep.
- The reflection of holiday lights on windows.
- Evening exercise.
- Evening reading.
- Getting ahead.
- Keeping your head above water.
- Chocolate-chip cookies.