Things that make us smile
Finding humour in the dark can be hard work. But it’s there. Set yourself a small goal — start with a smile. Walk before you run.
Each morning, I smile at our deputy editor Mark Story’s photograph that he shares with the Hawke’s Bay Today editorial team.
He seems to be revisiting his wardrobe from days gone by: Old university rugby jerseys, a tie.
The tie still fits. Not sure about the rugby jersey.
We are all working from home.
Each morning, we get up, and walk a few metres to work in our kitchens, lounges, spare bedrooms, garages, basements and if we are lucky enough, a home office.
The traffic is pretty light most mornings, although there was an accident at my place on Tuesday.
A size 11 foot collided with a 3kg weight.
A toe suffered some frontal damage. Restorative justice is under way between myself and the person registered to the 3kg weight.
She argues her right to turn our lounge into a gym during the lockdown. Fair point, I have turned the kitchen into an office — I may have to join her gym.
My “office” is a kitchen table that is an unsafe social distance from a fridge loaded with chocolate.
It seems I am working in a lunchroom next to a free snack machine.
The chocolate ratio was bolstered by a large box of Cadbury Favourites. They were supposed to go to a Wellington family billeting our son, on a cricket trip.
"My ‘office’ is a kitchen table that is an unsafe social distance from a fridge loaded with chocolate."
His cricket team got to Levin, when they were turned around.
Someone in Wellington had tested positive for Covid-19 — they were told to go home.
My first thought when my son messaged us was “what the hell are you doing in Levin?”
I briefly wondered if someone had let him drive the van.
Anyway, the Cadbury Favourites did not find their way to a Wellington family. Just as well — the box had been tampered with.
Someone had squeezed at least two chocolates out of the gap in the bottom of the box. Maybe more — the Turkish delights were elusive.
Especially when there aren’t any in the box, as it transpired.
The thought of someone feigning appreciation while accepting a tampered box of Favourites made me smile. The chocolates are making me fat.
The dinosaur stopped by police in Napier this week brought a smile to my face.
There is something gloriously ironic about a dinosaur roaming the streets of Napier while humans shelter from a virus that threatens our species.
He was told to go home. He was probably testing the boundaries of what constitutes a “neighbourhood”.
In my neighbourhood, a kiwi has emerged as a superhero.
Just down from the Botanical Gardens, someone has chalked a mural on a wall of a kiwi with a laser beam coming out of its eyes, zapping an alienlike coronavirus.
It is an awesome mural. It gives me hope. And it made me smile.
Stay home. Stay in your neighbourhood. Stay positive. And find reasons to smile.
Covid19.govt.nz: The Government’s official Covid-19 advisory website