Blissful Ordinariness

Today is such a funny day to be writing about blissful ordinariness. In this time of confusion due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus, I have never appreciated my daily routine more. I am nervous about being quarantined being I am going to miss simple pleasures like running to the grocery store at 8p.m. to grab vanilla ice cream. I am going to miss having to wake up sit in class for hours on end with the same people everyday. I feel this way, and I know most everyone else is feeling this way. However, I had no idea there was an actual term for appreciating the simple aspect of everyday life until now. That term is 'blissful ordinariness.'
We often celebrate grand events like birthdays, marriages, and graduates. However, different people consider different activities to be grand. Every morning my alarm goes off and I get up and get ready and do not think twice about it. For someone suffering depression, getting out of bed in the morning could be a huge milestone. As occupational therapists, we have a unique role of celebraters of the seemingly ordinary. An occupational therapist working with a client with depression might have been working with that very client on motivational activities and would document the achievement of getting out of bed as progress toward occupational performance. Three times a day I cook myself food. Unless I have made something out of the ordinary, which rarely happens, I don't praise myself for cooking. However, to someone with dementia who struggles to remember directions, cooking a simple step meal is cause to celebrate. Occupational therapists find the uniqueness in activities often looked over, until they can no longer be done. I love occupational therapy for find reasons to celebrate in love life during every, seemingly tiny, step of the day.