If you have ever read The Handmaid’s Tale, you will remember that the code word for the underground movement was Mayday; Mayday originating from the French m’aidez, meaning “help me.”

I, along with everyone else in the world, have Massive Pandemic Fatigue. My husband is at the apex of his very important work project that he has been working on for the past three and a half years. My kids are – apparently – going back to in-person school on Tuesday, and even when they are home they are, as they should be, absorbed in and busy with their own lives. With everyone else busy I am the Household Support Person, which is the way that it always has been, really. It’s just that, unlike in other chapters in my life, that is pretty much all that I am these days.

Do you know what I mean? Everyone else is busy doing important things and I am buying groceries, which is important in its own way, yes, but also, am I spending my one wild and precious life in the grocery store? Kind of. The kids are learning new things and preparing to spread their wings and I am timing my purchase of dog food to coincide with 15% off treat day at Pet Planet.

So I am the Household Support Person; I’m the sounding board for issues, I am the person who knows when the winter blankets need to be swapped out or when the Roomba needs to run. I know when the towels need changing and while I don’t financially put the food on the table, I physically do. I meal plan and make corresponding grocery lists, I know when toiletries need replenishing and when to order more medication for the dog. I know when appointments need to be made and I make them, I do all of those things and it’s fine. It’s totally fine! It’s just strange to be in a stage where this is my main role.

I am down to teaching two classes a week, and honestly, that is all I feel I can handle right now. I am so lucky to be able to teach zoom yoga, and still keep my beloved students, but my favourite thing about teaching was physically observing my students and then coming up with different ways for different bodies to experience the postures, in a way that would be best for individual students. I am so grateful to still be teaching, I bring all my same energy and enthusiasm to every class, but fourteen months of teaching to a screen and missing the physical presence of students is wearing on my spirit.

M’aidez! We are all fatigued, I know it. And when I feel the most fatigued and sapped of energy, I remember my Little Helpers. I have little treats and things that I look forward to on a daily and weekly basis that help with the tiresome, repetitive aspects of day-to-day life; Mother’s Little Helpers, if you will, in a non-Valium way.

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Mayday, M’aidez Edition

Coffee Coffee Coffee #coffee

It’s no secret that I love coffee, but not fancy coffee or complicated coffee: I like my Kirkland Signature black coffee, the more the better. The great thing about being a coffee drinker is that every single day I have something small to look forward to; when I wake up I think ooh, coffee. Starting the coffeemaker is the very first thing I do every morning, before drinking two glasses of water and washing my face. But the best part about a daily coffee habit, other than the actual sweet sweet hit of caffeine? Choosing a mug.

Sure, I could use one of the plain mugs that match our dishware, but why. Why wouldn’t I choose something fun? Every one of these mugs has a little backstory, and I think of them every time I choose one.

This little guy is my favourite, don’t tell the others. I painted it myself one day when I took the kids to one of those paint-your-own-ceramics places. I love it so much that my sweet friend Andrea (HI ANDREA) painted this for me:

Tea For One

Most afternoons, while I’m making dinner or reading, I will make myself a cup of tea. Do you know what I love about drinking tea? You can choose teas that make you feel good about yourself and your life choices.

You are having a cup of tea, but you are also detoxing! Or soothing your stress! I mean, do they work? Who knows. But look! I’m cleansing, detoxing, calming, embracing my womanhood, boosting my metabolism, reviving myself, all by drinking a cup of tea. It’s enough to make you feel downright smug. I love coffee so much but coffee doesn’t have that same I am changing my whole LIFE with this tea feeling. I also love my little turtle mug; it has a lid on it to keep warm while it steeps, and the turtle changes colour with hot water.

Wine

While we are on the topic of drinks, hi.

It’s no secret that I love wine; if I could drink it every single day with no consequences, I would. However, there are lots of reasons not to do that: my liver, for one, but also skin elasticity, hot flashes, inflamed joints, and recycling all those bottles. So, I limit myself to once a week, generally Fridays, and let me tell you, I look forward to wine time like nobody’s business.

This is my favourite wine of all time, Vineyard Estates Cabernet Franc. Fun fact: the winemaker there is a lifelong friend of my husband’s, their dads were also lifelong friends, and their GRANDPAS were pioneers in the Canadian grape and wine industries. It’s just really nice to have that family connection, but also, this wine is the best. Because of weird Canadian rules, it is not available in liquor stores here, so we get it specially shipped. Well, my husband does this. I may be the Household Support Person but he’s my Wine Support Person!

Fancy Water

A few summers ago someone introduced me to La Croix, and I cannot go back to regular soda water. I can’t! I won’t! This makes me feel fancy, when I want to have a drink but it’s not Wine Time. It’s the perfect non-alcoholic backyard summer beverage, and the coconut, grapefruit, and razz-cranberry flavours are LIFE.

It’s Popping

Okay, yes, I have an air popper and yes, I have popcorn kernels and butter and coconut oil and seasoning salts and what have you, but sometimes I just do not want to be bothered. It doesn’t SEEM like a big deal to make popcorn but when it’s Friday night and I’m on my third glass of wine and I’m getting really invested in an episode of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives (Will it be a one-way ticket to Flavourtown?), it becomes a big deal. Popping popcorn and then cleaning up the detritus is just one toke over the line, sweet Jesus.

You know how some people are Sweet People, and some people are Salty People? I am definitely Salty, although perhaps not personality-wise. I love Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop because it’s delicious, it’s relatively healthy – even the kettle corn version which, goddamn, it’s amazingly sweet AND salty – and I almost always get PC Points when I buy it at Superstore. IT JUST DOESN’T GET BETTER THAN THAT.

I Scream You Scream

So I am not generally a sweets person, but I do look forward to weekly desserts that I make on Sundays. Listen, I make homemade ice cream all the time, there are five different flavours sitting in my freezer right this second, but dairy and I are not friends, and so while I make all this ice cream, I never eat it. Yes, I know how to make and I have made non-dairy ice cream and it’s fine, it’s better than fine, but sometimes I just want to grab a couple of scoops and that’s all. You know what I mean? Sure, it’s easy to make homemade non-dairy ice cream, but do you know what is easier? Buying this at Superstore.

Non-dairy ice creams have come a long way since I first gave up dairy. Back then, non-dairy ice creams tasted exactly like sadness. Not anymore! This product, made from coconut milk, is so absolutely creamy and delicious, I think I hear angels sing when I eat it.

So many treats! And today is Friday so I will be indulging myself later; in the meantime I will enjoy the scent of my Mayday tree in full bloom. It’s something I look forward to every spring; it’s a breath of life. What treats get you through the day? Tell me everything. xo