it’s been a tough couple of weeks. across the world we are all staying home as much as possible to stop the spread of covid, at at the end of 5 weeks we were all feeling a little stir crazy and a little antsy. in the spirit of focusing on positive things, last week’s friday check in [yes, they are still happening] was pretty simple:

what is one thing from the week that made you smile?

for me it was easy: a walk by the river. i realized how much of my anxiety was coming from not having seen the river in over a month, so on wednesday i went for a walk along riverside drive, and it was perfect.

katie milligan got her new lawn chairs and spent as much time as possible in them soaking up sunshine.

little brother alex got to catch up with one of his friends who is on the frontlines in london as an nhs worker.

jeremy shared this lovely photo of baxter giving me a hug, and my heart melted.

alex sent us the cutest picture of solomon and her cuddling on the couch.

kat shared an absolutely hilarious tik tok of a golden retriever who is over all the quarantine walks. my stomach was hurting from laughing so hard. [also note how much dog-related content there is in this, because dogs are the best]

maggie had to go to home depot and was touched by the kindness of the people working there.

ellie went for a walk in the woods near her house and saw the most beautiful bluebells out in full bloom. and she adopted a cat!

rob sent us a picture of some apple blossoms from his garden. [very on brand for the mann siblings to both share nature photos, btw]

nate has been enjoying john krasinski’s some good news episodes, especially the recent one featuring the boston red sox.

lauren and sam picked up the keys to their new apartment in boston! it has tons of closet space — and a whole extra bedroom just for me 🙂

corrinne treated herself to a new spin bike.

sarah got the sweetest email from a professor thanking her for sharing well wishes and for always being so prepared for class. that’s my little mini-me!

chris shared a story of scarlett stuffing an entire tennis ball into her mouth and then running around the house like she was possessed.

brent made some delicious fried rice that he was very excited about. he did not, however, offer to share.

and brandon sent me this photo of riggs on guard duty with a toy in her mouth. i miss her so much it makes my heart hurt.

what has made you smile recently?

sending hugs to anyone who needs them.

xx