Real Simple is my favorite magazine. With each new issue, I aspire to make my life as organized and beautiful as the one depicted on its pages. That can be me. That will be me. That must be me. And every month I fall short. But that’s okay. Because it’s the hope I feel as I contemplate its elegant cover that keeps me coming back. The hope that my better life awaits with each new issue.
So when I came across this edition while converting our guest bedroom into my new home office, I was drawn to its soothing words and colors. And then I saw it: “57 Ways to Start Fresh in 2020.” Wow. More than a year ago. Right before the pandemic hit. We definitely got a fresh start in 2020, but not the kind we wanted.
January 2020 Remix
Because 2020 was anything but calm and relaxed, I developed a few alternate titles for more appropriate content:
Stressed & Depressed: 57 Ways to Prevent a Nervous Breakdown in 2020
Anxious & Afraid: 57 Ways to Avoid Common Surfaces in 2020
Masked & Irritable: 57 Ways to Give Serious Side-Eye in 2020
In retrospect, I found the names of the other highlighted articles amusing, too. “Control Your Closet.” Easy. I stopped shopping. What’s the point? Comfy pants and tees are de rigueur. “A Year of Money Savers.” How clairvoyant. Yes, it was. No vacations, no dining out, no movie-going, no spa appointments, no after-work happy hours at the wine bar, and . . . no shopping. “One-Pot Dinners.” How about “One-Room Lives”? I spend most of my days in our open concept kitchen. It’s not just for cooking anymore. It’s now where I work, where I eat, where I clean, where I Zoom. And that’s why I’m finally creating a home office. I need more separation between my nearly constant telework life and my homebound personal life.
2021: It Just Keeps Coming
I was all set for the arrival of my new Crate & Barrel desk that will hopefully lead to healthier work and personal-life boundaries. No more kitchen table conference calls for me. But the winter storm left a thick layer of ice on our driveway and stairs, so I rescheduled delivery (now arriving: March 9). I was disappointed, but it wasn’t a big deal. Especially compared to the misery the storm heaped upon much of the country, including the Great State of Texas. Freezing conditions. Deadly highway pileups. Power outages. Burst water pipes. Undrinkable water. Added suffering to already difficult circumstances. There’s absolutely nothing simple about 2021 . . . yet. I guess that’s why I continue to cling to the ideal of a Real Simple Life. But at this point, I think we’d all settle for a Not-So-Difficult Life.