This prompt smacks of narcissism and braggadocio. Do we need to be kind to others so that we can tell everyone about it? Do we need attention for being kind? Is that what this is about?
Because I think it isn’t. And I think this prompt is tactless.
Be kind to others. You don’t need to announce it. In fact, it doesn’t really count as a kindness if you tell everyone. At least not in my book.
What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?
I wish I would’ve known that sooner. Jokes aside, it’s very difficult to maintain health and well-being in these days and times. Whatever you’re doing, and it’s working for you, and it’s not hurting you or anyone else? Do more of that.
I talk to the plants and the animals. I feed the birds and the squirrels. When it’s really hot, I fill up the birdbaths at least three times a day. Note: birds know when you wake up. Just like cats know when your eyes pop open first thing in the morning, birds know when you’re awake. They can hear you in your room when the alarm goes off and you start reaching for your phone to snooze it. They hear it. As soon as a bird knows I’m awake, it’s in the tree outside of my window chirping at me to get out of bed and do the right thing. And the right thing is to feed it. As I open the blinds, I see many pairs of eyeballs staring at me. So of course I have to feed them.
I visit with my trees and give them pats and scritches on their bark. I sing to my inside plants. I tell them they are beautiful, and when they are flowering I congratulate them on their children. They haven’t complained yet, but maybe it’s because I can’t hear them complaining. I don’t speak plant. Yet.
I very carefully watch for bees and then walk through the grass. It’s very important to be grounded to the actual earth during these times. If you’re not grounding, you may be getting lost in the ether.
I avoid news. I know enough to be informed, but other than that, it’s a detriment to my mental and physical health to invest in anything harmful that has the ability to enter my brain via sound waves and visual recordings. Once taken in by the brain, they can never be taken away. I have learned this the hard way. I must also be careful with reading the written word. But there is slightly more control over getting your news via the written word. 
I keep a routine. Routine helps the brain feel regulated.
I like to go outside and see what I can snap a photograph of. There’s always something, if you’re looking close enough. One of the reasons my mother always kept creating new – and sometimes judged as wacky art projects – was to keep herself occupied and uplifted. It kept her from falling into anxiety and depression. Some may say that’s a little bit nuts, but I think it’s very wise. I have learned this wacky creativity lesson from her and I try to utilize it via photography and in other creative small projects.
I watch shows and films that are comforting or interesting. I will re-watch shows I like specifically for the comfort factor. I try to avoid heavy drama because if I wanted heavy drama, I would not be writing about how to maintain my mental physical health…
Since Susie died, I have been rearranging and repurposing things in the house to make the house more “me.” I have a very tight budget, but this is a new phase of life and with a recent birthday, I’ve decided now is the time to switch things up a bit.
What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being? Comment below!
If you could bring back one dinosaur, which one would it be?
I did bring him back. I brought him back from the store to my house. He hardly eats anything, and he’s very quiet. He is rather lazy, though. We don’t often think of dinosaurs as being lazy, but Unisaurus is also part unicorn, and unicorns don’t have to do anything except be beautiful.
(While searching for a featured image for this post, I discovered there is a children’s animated/book character named Roxy that bears the moniker Unisaurus. I had no idea this existed and my lazy beast is in no way related to that author’s idea.)
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?
Which activities make you lose track of time?
One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing the word “loose” used incorrectly to mean “lose.” I cry in Proper Grammar when I see this on social media. It makes me sad. It makes me want to pick up my red pen and start editing. Yes, I am the Grammar Police, and if I catch you, you will not get loose, but you will definitely lose!
What do you listen to while you work?
My job asks a lot of me and my brain. For ten hours, I am essentially a computer analyzing data with some math computations thrown in. Music playing the background is a distraction, as is anyone talking. The birds are welcome to talk amongst themselves outside, and even yell at me for not putting out the peanuts quickly enough, but other than that? Silencio.
Yes, Disturbed covered this song, but I prefer the original.
Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds Of Silence
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
Because I am not cooking, and Cheffy is  adorable. Please be aware before you RSVP to this event, the portions are very, very small.
What do you think gets better with age?
The ability to judge what is worth pondering or taking on. The insight and intuition to decide that something isn’t for you. The capability to decide that if something isn’t for you, you can leave it and go on about your day.
The wisdom to own your own shit and know that other peoples’ shit is not yours to own. To not give a fuck if people don’t like that you curse.
To determine it’s perfectly acceptable to water your plants wearing your bathrobe and your slippers. To go out in a very nice outfit, but not wear a stitch of makeup on your face. (This is closely related to wearing a bathrobe to water your plants.) Also, with age comes the knowledge and the understanding that what people see on the outside is not who you are on the inside. And who you are on the inside is much more important than what you look like.
My birthday is tomorrow. One more trip around the sun. Susie passed away in my lap this past Monday, and my best friend’s mother died about five hours later. It has been a difficult week, and I have scaled it alone, save for several good souls. And I have made it through. With age comes inner strength you didn’t know you had.
With age comes discernment. With age comes the knowledge that grief is love. You learn people can only ever treat you the way they feel about themselves. Sometimes you can do everything possible, but if you are misunderstood by others, it won’t make a difference. And you have to just let that shit go.
I have learned pets are a gift from above. Animals do not offer conditional love, theirs is only unconditional. They love simply because that’s what they do. For people who don’t know the love of a pet, or specifically a cat, I’m sorry. Your life has not been enriched in the way that mine has. Tiny humans grow up and they begin to place conditions on their love. It’s what the world does to us. But a pet never does. A 17-year-old cat still loves unconditionally, the same as when they were a tiny baby. My birthday wish is that humans may strive to be less conditional with their love, and be more like “animals.”
In honor of Susie, Happy Caturday, friends. 
Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?
Are we talking about baby books that older adults read to you? Are we talking about the first book you read to yourself? Are we talking about the books you would buy at the Scholastic book fair? The fair they had every year in the trailer, and you would walk in and it would smell like new books and you knew this was your place? Or are we talking about books you read as an older child, the books that formed who you are and showed you other worlds can exist. And not only can you read them, you can write them.
I am sure they’re all in my memory somewhere, but they all exist as one.
List your top 5 favorite fruits.
“It's Amy,” I said. 