One thing that I will always remember about my grandparents is how permanently they were affected by the Great Depression. It impacted their spending habits, life decisions, and their entire perspective on life.

As we pass the one-year mark of living with the coronavirus pandemic, it is okay to be depressed, yet a little hopeful, all at the same time. This crappy experience will shape us for the rest of our lives. We have already lived one year with significant isolation and stress and we are not out of the woods yet.

I’ve been affected. You’ve been affected. Everyone has…

My daughter’s birthday is fast approaching.

It’s her second birthday during corona restrictions, so it’s her second year without a party. I’m officially off the hook from the planning, the party favors, the big cake, and the decorations.

Am I sad? Heck, no. I’m relieved.

My child is two and has no concept of what she’s missing. Sure, we’ll have a small cake and a present or two from me and my partner. Maybe I’ll even get a few balloons and a few presents will trickle in from relatives over the next few weeks.

So why am I relieved? There…

I won’t lie. I have a sweet tooth.

Let’s be honest. Baking is a fun activity and we all need a sweet pick-me-up now and then during this corona pandemic.

However, my family rolls their eyes at me a lot. The reason? It’s usually a response when I say some variation of this:

“I just made an awesome dessert…only I replaced the sugar with dates!”

I grew up not afraid of cooking or baking with sugar. After all, I’m a child of the 1980s. But when I started cooking more and more for myself, I found myself wanting healthier alternatives.

…

Like most people around the world, I won’t be going to a Christmas Eve church service this year. Thanks, coronavirus…

Christmas Eve service is one of my favorite things about the holiday. And that’s a bit funny because I am no longer religious.

Despite this, I believe church at Christmastime is magical. You walk in the door to candlelight and everyone dressed in festive clothes. It’s all about tradition — the holiday hymns, seeing everyone from childhood, the cozy feeling of inclusion, and the lighting of individual candles during the song, “Silent Night.”

It’s also all about family. My sister…

Disposable diapers are amazing.

Your child’s waste is contained. You see it for only a few moments (hopefully) and then you close up the diaper. Poof! Gone from your thoughts and into the trash can or Diaper Genie.

The invention of disposable diapers was a miracle of convenience for parents and it seems that the world has not looked back. No more washing poop from cloth diapers. After all, hasn’t society evolved past cloth diapers?

But let’s stop and consider the impact of moving to disposable diapers. An average baby uses between eight and twelve diapers per day in the…

I tend to be a hoarder when it comes to craft supplies.

When things break around the house, I store them away. I think, “Maybe I’ll use this someday in a project.” Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

When my family’s camping tent broke in 2015, on a whim, I kept it. It was one of those pop-up affairs that takes you forever to figure out how to put back together. I was disappointed because we’d had some good memories camping. I hated to throw it in the garbage, so I cut out the broken poles and kept the nylon…

I grew up on tomato soup.

Back then, it was tomato soup from a can. Campbell’s soup with milk added, not water. After all, I had my standards. On the side? A grilled cheese made with American cheese.

These days, my tomato soup is homemade. The overall taste has improved with this homemade version, but the specific taste of tangy tomatoes balanced by cream is still the backbone of the soup.

I don’t say this to sound pretentious. I’ve tweaked a recipe over the past five years and it’s dead simple to make. The prep is done within minutes and…

We all have things we expected to be doing these past few weeks. This month. This year.

And then life changed.

For those in China, it changed in December 2019. In other parts of Asia, it happened in January 2020. In Italy, the restrictive measures started in late February. For these rest of the world, it was likely March.

For most of us, it’s one of the most drastic changes in our lives and it’s made worse by two things.

First, we have no control over these changes.

Second — and probably the most disconcerting thing — we have no…