I fell off the gratitude wagon. Instead of staying mindful and being grateful for the little things I fought with my son about math homework and obsessively played the Sims 3. Funny enough, my Sim’s son hates her no matter what she does. He probably hates math, too. So much realism for a game full of witches and vampires.

We’ve made a little time to get outside, though. Our parks and trails are semi-open in Utah–you’re supposed to stay in your own county and cetrain popular parks and trails are closed. Luckily, our county is home to the boringly names Utah lake. Fifteen minutes from our house there’s a little beach with ducks and seagulls and cute little snakes, and it’s finally warm enough for the kids to splash around. It’s peaceful, even with the local airport right next door. We get to see small planes coming in to land.

The lake has put me back on the gratitude wagon. If you have to hide away from a global pandemic, there are definitely worse places to do it.