You're Watching that.....Again?

Hey Fam!

Just a little sanity check; how we feeling? How’s 2025 treating ya?

Not great? Yeah, didn’t think so.

So…the world has been frappe’d in a high speed blender. Lots of chaos and upheaval. Lots of unknowns. Lots of man-made stress, infiltrating every aspect of our waking lives, with no safe place to turn or relief from the emotional bombardment of the constant news cycle. Everyday it’s something else; some fresh batch of unleashed hell, that no one knows what to do with or stop from escalating.

And it’s only April!

No need to rehash details—turn on any local news affiliate for the latest piece on “stupid shit they did today”—but life in America—and the trickledown effect its had on the world—has become a literal dumpster fire. Actually…I’d say its dynamite in a dumpster; once that puppy blows there’s no amount of distance or cover that will save your ass.

Which is part of the problem; there’s literally no escaping it.

In the “before-times”, politics and religion were two topics you just never brought up in civil society. They were off-limits at dinner parties or social gatherings for fear of pissing someone off with differing views. And for the most part, that was a good thing; a casual bowling night didn’t need to end in fists thrown over voter registration rights. Now, the topic is now unavoidable. You can try with all your might to have a non-politically charged event with friends or family members but eventually that topic is gonna come up. Because to deny it—push it away like an unpaid electric bill—is to normalize it—and eventually you’ll be sitting in the dark. In some ways, its good to talk about it; open, adult discussion can help quell fears and possibly introduce differing perspectives—active listening is definitely a needed skill.

But unfortunately, “soapbox fatigue”—or constantly having the same conversation over and over with no resolution—can have the opposite intended effect. The stance you feel so passionately about becomes stale and you just want to get off the hamster wheel of inaction. Or it increases your anxiety instead of easing it. Then comes the doom-scrolling at all hours and the constant need to refresh your news browser. So then it’s an ever building list of anxieties.

Not speaking from experience.

Nope.

Not me at all.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Not for four years anyway. God willing, even then. So how does one mentally survive this anxiety-inducing onslaught and not end up in the fetal position at the end of every day?

Well, as your resident Queen of Anxiety—a well-earned title—I have a few suggestions.

If you’re like me, doom scrolling and browser refreshing is sort of unavoidable; given the state of the world, you need to stay semi-informed. So don’t set yourself up for failure; you’re not going to cut it out all together. Try and keep any “information sessions” to a specific time of day and keep “consumption” to a very limited amount of time. Personally, I glance over the news first thing in the morning and only for about ten minutes. That’s enough time to digest without completely destroying my day. I’d also avoid doing any deep dives in the hour or so before bed; unwind at night as opposed to wind tight.

Which brings me—longwindedly—to my biggest piece of advise—and the purpose of this blog; pursue activities that block out the noise. Take some advice from Elle Woods: “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't shoot their husbands. They just don't.” The “shooting your husband” bit doesn’t exactly apply here, but you get my point. Exercise is probably the only reason I’m not currently prescribed a SSRI; daily dedication to exercise is hard as a mom, but I recognize that it’s my stress relief and something I make the time for.

Aside from exercise, entertainment is the easiest noise blocker. And during one of the most stressful times in my life—height of Covid, when I was 8-months pregnant and about to be homeless due to two failed inspections—a friend of mine gave me the best piece of advice.

“There’s a reason those Hallmark Christmas movies are so popular; they all have the same premise. You can jump in on them at any point—or zone out—and you know everything will end with a snowy kiss in front of a brightly decorated Christmas tree. Shows you’ve seen a million times have the same effect—that’s why reruns are so popular!”

And it’s 100% true.

When you don’t really need to pay close attention to a form of entertainment, you relax and zone out. So rewatching your favorite shows—especially at night when you are trying to “unwind and not wind tight”—is an easy way to distract your mind without adding additional stress. Like I wouldn’t suggest rewatching shows like Succession or even Game of Thrones—where the plot is so thick with twists and turns and you need to be laser focused—but fun shows, with a light premise will do the trick!

Here is my rotation:

Parks and Recreation

I don’t remember a time without Parks and Rec; which is an odd thing to say, because my first viewing wasn’t until well after the final episode aired. In fact, my work nickname was Leslie Knope. At the time, I had no clue who that was and if it was an insult.

Having now watched the full series well over seven times, being called Leslie Knope is 100% warranted and appreciated. It’s a badge of honor to be compared to the all-mighty Leslie in any context.

The show is just a warm hug. The cast is impeccable—Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman are a true ensemble and each carries the show in their own regard. The writing is spot on with one-liners galore!

"We need to remember what's important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn't matter, but work is third.”—Leslie Knope

"Windows are the eyes to the house." —Andy

"There's only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk. Which is water that's lying about being milk." —Ron

And hello! Galentines Day wouldn’t be a thing without Leslie and Ann!

It’s my husband and I’s “get in bed and have a few laughs before passing out” show. Hell, I even considered going into public service when a job opened up in my local Parks and Rec department.

(*hindsight—glad I didn’t*)

Schitt’s Creek

To the person who suggested I watch Schitt’s Creek during my first maternity leave, THANK YOU. Postpartum and a global pandemic: not the best time for me, mentally. But the Rose family brought some light to a very dark, stressful time. To the extent that my husband—who caught a few minutes in between work calls—asked me to wait for him to watch, too.

I—begrudgingly—obliged. Because it’s “…simply the best!”—IYKYK :)

Like tradition, I did a re-watch during my second maternity leave.

My love for this show runs deep and I could go on for hours. The characters—another well-rounded, hilarious cast—with quick, witty writing make this show a complete homerun. But also it deals with modern topics with whimsy.

Perfect example: the scene where Stevie asks, in a roundabout way, what David’s sexual preference is. David, realizing what she’s getting at and responds by using a metaphor;

“Um, I do drink red wine. But I also drink white wine. And I've been known to sample the occasional rosé. And a couple summers back, I tried a Merlot that used to be a Chardonnay, which got a bit complicated…”

The above exchange isn’t a solitary example of the simplistic, whimsical way Schitt’s Creek handles differences or topics that are taboo in mainstream media. In fact the town—THE Schitt’s Creek—paints a picture of a utopian society; the differences and real world issues are there—fuming under the surface—but they just aren’t a big deal. People just love each other for who they are, not a label or a societal construct.

Schitt’s Creek is how the world should and could be if we all just got over our hang-ups or prejudgments.

It’s a beautiful show. And I will never stop rewatching it.

Gilmore Girls

A good ol’ dose of nostalgia.

I remember catching the odd episode here and there back when it aired—my mom was a massive fan. But recently—mainly due to the Netflix revival— I decided to dive back into a full-series binge. Which is a massive undertaking: 7 seasons, 153 episodes in length. This was also a solo binge as my husband’s not a fan; “They talk too fast! And no one is THAT witty and on at all times!”

You obviously don’t know Rory and Lorelai, bud!

It’s another one of those feel good, timeless shows, that no matter how many times you watch, you’re left wanting more. You want to live in Stars Hollow, eat at Luke’s everyday, go to Friday Night Dinners, step outside and “smell snow” and be Lorelai’s daughter.

And don’t even get me started on Boyfriend-Gate—Team Luke and Team Jess all the way :)

I’ve been called Rory Gilmore on multiple occasions, so there’s that, too. Please bring it back, Amy Sherman-Palladino! We need more lighthearted entertainment in these dark times. And…

WHO IS RORY’S BABY DADDY?!

Saying all of this is really easy; “Just pop on a feel good show and forget the world is burning down around you.” I’m not that delusional. It also doesn’t solve the issues at hand—can someone PLEASE take control and rein this shit in? But times like these—I’m TIRED of experiencing “times like these”— have shown that the only thing we can control is ourselves. Protect your mental health and pursue the things that make you happy. There’s plenty out there that’s looking to drag you down, so steer clear and keep your peace. Stay informed, but not over-saturated. Make change where you can.

And if all else fails, take some advice from Carol King….