Coping with Laughter, A Recommended Film, Supporting Nurses & More

Laughter as a Coping Method

While COVID is no laughing matter, especially as the deaths soar, and our medical workers are woefully ill equipped with protective gear, laughing can help to discharge our frustrations. Here’s a link to a very funny Instagram short video of a woman cooking and dancing at the same time.  Her exuberance is catching and is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Unorthodox, the Movie

This week I watched the very absorbing Netflix film, Unorthodox, based on the memoir by Deborah Feldman.  It’s the story of a woman raised in an ultra-Conservative Jewish community in Williamsburg, NY.  She marries at 17, has a baby at 19, and with the help of her piano teacher, takes her infant son and flees to Berlin.  I was fascinated by the depiction of everyday life in a Hasidic community where the women have virtually no freedom.

Amit Rahav and Shira Haas, the lead actress, in “Unorthodox.” This is a scene from their wedding.

Virtual Happy Hours

This week I had a virtual Happy Hour with two friends, who live in rural Maine.  We agonized, laughed and consoled one another.  It was highly therapeutic.  I plan to schedule more virtual Happy Hours in the coming weeks as we will all be sequestered for awhile.

A real time Happy Hour in the days before COVID

Our Brave Nurses and Doctors

This morning on “Democracy Now” I watched an interview with Tre Kwon, an ICU nurse at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan.  She and her fellow nurse protesters where objecting to the lack of masks, protective gowns and the like.  Kwon, cut short her maternity leave to go back to work early. After following the acute shortage of medical staff, she was moved to do her part.  I long to find a way to support our medical workers—to pressure the government to get them the supplies they need.

Making a Mask

Speaking of masks, I found a link to a mask you can make without sewing, which is right up my alley, since I’m notorious for taping up my skirt hems when they come undone. This mask only requires a handkerchief and two elastic hair bands.

I wish everyone peace and safety in these very challenging times!