Taking things half a day at a time is OK, too

Arecent “Peanuts” cartoon showed Charlie Brown telling Linus, “I used to take each day as it came. You know, live one day at a time. My philosophy has changed. I'm down to half-a-day at a time.”

Reminds me of the children's book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” When Alexander was having one of those days, his wise mother told him, “Alexander, there will be days like that.”

With the news that the pandemic is probably not going away soon, most of us will encounter “one of those days.” We may feel helpless, or hopeless, or just plain bored, but what is interesting is how people through texts and emails are sharing smiles and encouragement.

One friend tells me she will get “down in the dumps” for a time — but then will listen to music that she enjoys or that is encouraging and strong — and she has been known to sing loudly along with the tune or perhaps dance wildly around the house to the beat of the music!

Almost daily I receive emails that make me smile. One came today: “If they shut schools for too long, Mothers are going to find a solution for the virus before all scientists!”

Another came that was meant to encourage: “I know this! When this ends — AND IT WILL — every-game will be sold out, every restaurant will have a 2-hour wait, every kid will be glad to be in school, everyone will love their job, the stock market will skyrocket, every other house will get TP'd, and we'll all embrace and shake hands. That's gonna be a pretty good day. Hang in there, World!”

And when you think you can't do this another day, try Charlie Brown's new philosophy — just take it half a day at a time — and keep going.