Finding Joy: Healthy Distractions

Stressing about infertility and all the waiting involved can sometimes seem to overpower our day-to-day activities. At work, all you hear is coworkers sharing stories about their children. After work, you go to the store, everyone is pregnant, pushing a cart with a baby in it, and/or with children. You go home to turn on the tv, it's a commercial for diapers. You change the channel, it's a commercial for back-to-school shopping. You change it again and aaack! it's "16 and pregnant"!! Is this your typical day? Some times, it sure seems like mine! I think it's healthy, at times, to practice a little escapism. Put your brain on break and focus on something completely different. Hobbies: Is there something you've always wanted to do, or get back to, but never did? How about learning to sculpt clay? Knit a sweater? Crochet a cute hat? Did you always drool over the kits sold at craft stores and think: "maybe someday"? Why not now? Be Adventuresome: Why not do that weekend trip hiking and camping in the mountains? Why not try out that new bistro in downtown? There is a college production of some cheezy play. Do it. Tai Chi classes are being offered at the gym? Go for it. Books: Well, you are here, aren't you? :) All of us editors will freely tell you that on top of the books we read for LiWBC, we have other tomes on our bedstand. If you are a lover of classics but don't know where to start, check out top 100 lists for all-time best novels. Check out the NYT's bestsellers and see if you can be *that* one who recommends books to others. Read Oprah's recommended book before she does. :) Movies: What are your tastes in movies? Do you like contemporary ones? Classics? Comedies? Drama? Mystery? Sci Fi? So many categories for a reason. Be a little adventurous and try a taste of a crossover-style movie. If you loved Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, try him out in Usual Suspects (Academy Award) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. If you are a fan of Naomi Watts in The Ring, check her out in Eastern Promises with Viggo Mortensen and in King Kong with Jack Black. She also did an outstanding job in The Painted Veil. What are your go-to movies for when you are feeling blue? For me, it's Hot Rod, Conan the Barbarian, The Princess Bride and The Apartment. Plus, putting on TCM almost always gets me a nice classic movie to zone out to. Pop some corn and watch one of your old favorites or discover a new favorite.