SALT LAKE CITY — Some humans just don’t let themselves wallow in disconcerting times like a global pandemic. Some find joy wherever they go. They seek distractions and embrace humor, then offer both like balm to the rest of us.
Goofing off and being distracted help people deal with intense crises that can’t just be resolved using problem-solving skills, according to Lisa Bahar, an adjunct professor of psychology at Pepperdine University. “When in a crisis, the goal is to not make the situation worse for yourself, so people are encouraged to practice distraction skills.”
For families inundated with the demands of remote schooling, distractions have been a welcome safety valve. Bahar said children in particular are watching their adult role models for guidance on how to cope and feel when times are hard. The bottom line is, people of all ages have benefited from finding time to play during the pressures of the pandemic.
If you need some inspiration or a laugh, here are several joy-affirming moments from the heart of the crisis:
- The Quarantine Olympics are delightful and not hard to replicate or try to outdo, even. Alex Presley, his twin brother Zach, mom Wendy, dad Lee and girlfriend Taylor Sharpe have been doing a series of challenges, from seeing who can grab the most money as it falls from a ceiling fan to “racing” a pea across the wooden floor by blowing on it through a soda straw. They seem limited only by their wild imaginations, hence such events as seeing who can drink water straight from the fridge dispenser with a straw the longest before it overflows or whose paper airplane goes the farthest. Toilet paper bowling? Of course they tried it. At one point, they each dialed the person they thought was most likely to pick up a phone call fast. A win yields a point and the scores keep climbing.
My favorite is the water balloon shaving contest. Check it out.
- Some folks are tackling building projects. Check out the “Gateway to the Imagination” project that Kimberly Adams, a correspondent for Marketplace, posted about, created by her Uncle David.
- Amanda and Matthew McKnight of Sandy, Utah, created a chalk obstacle course/exercise routine for their young children, Miles, 7, and Madison, 2. Amanda, a grade school teacher at Escalante Elementary in Salt Lake City, said she looked at the skills her kids needed or could be challenged on and built the course around that. It’s easily modified. Miles gets to work on side jumps and jumping jacks and Madison is learning to follow the lines and jump, among other things.
Amanda is an old hand at keeping kids entertained, so they’ve also done scavenger hunts and dance parties, camped out in the backyard and started a garden. They like to “do dumb things like eat an orange while wearing orange, mismatched sock days, crazy hair days, wear your shirt backwards days, etc.,” she said.
- For those looking to combine science and family-friendly distraction, no one beats engineer Mark Rober, a Brigham Young University graduate and former NASA employee, who creates delightful viral videos like the one in which he built a glitter bomb parcel to foil a porch bandit. Rober’s passed a portion of the last couple of months in his backyard figuring out how to outsmart squirrels that were eating the seeds that promote another joy, birdwatching. You might want to build something great yourself — or just watch his elaborate course and choose who you want to root for. Who said sports have stopped?
- Dancing has proven to be a huge kick during the pandemic — and a big piece of what’s being called the Quarantine Challenge 2K20, where people challenge each other to be creative with song, dance, even putting on a T-shirt while standing on your head.
Motivational speaker Michael Hoffman and his youth minister daughter Ali have one of the best father-daughter moments of the pandemic to the tune of Jess Glyne’s “Hold My Hand.” The Carrollton, Texas, duo apparently shook off the blues with some dance about five years ago when they were stuck inside for an ice storm. It reportedly didn’t last as long as the pandemic.
- And speaking of Texas, you may have seen this Amarillo cowboy’s beam routine. Let’s give Guy Bell a 10.0.