Britt Skrabanek

Coronavirus Escape: Here’s a Free Copy of Beneath the Satin Gloves

Coronavirus is on our minds constantly right now. I’m not going to write about it, because I don’t have anything groundbreaking to add that hasn’t already been covered ad nauseam.

Honestly, I’m at a loss for words. Each morning I wake up wondering what kind of world I will be stumbling into. I drink my coffee and try to avoid the news on my laptop, but the worldwide impact is impossible to ignore.

We need to stay informed and support one another, but most of all, we need to do our best to keep on living. We need to take care of ourselves, which means we should find healthy escapes that remove us from the vortex of uncertainty—even if that’s only for a half-hour.

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How Are You Doing?

When was the last time you really asked yourself: How are you doing? Not in the same way you throw around “how are you doing?” as a glorified greeting in everyday conversations.

You’ve worn out the question that way, like all the rest of us. Over the years “how are you doing?” lost its true sense of care and curiosity, becoming as numb as the canned responses to that rhetorical question…

I’m good.
Fine. And, how are you?
Doing great. Busy, but great.

Most of the time we don’t give ourselves a chance to answer the rhetorical “how are you doing?” because we never ask it. Instead, we focus on a very different question: What are you doing?

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A Tribute to My Relentless 80-Year-Old Cat

This is clearly a crazy cat lady post. Feel free to run if you 1) Don’t like cats for whatever reason or 2) Think cat writing tributes are completely ridiculous.

If you’re still here, also know that I haven’t lost it or hit a wall with my writing. I simply thought it was time to write a tribute to my old lady cat, Panda (real name: Aphrodite) while she’s still here in the realm of humans, rather than writing one later when she moves on.

Why do we write tributes after humans and animals die anyway? Isn’t it better to honor them while they’re alive? Without further ado…

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6 Months Without Alcohol and Life is Beautiful

In month five of not drinking alcohol, I knew I was a different person. My hairstylist confirmed this when I walked into the salon for my appointment. I’ve been seeing her for years, yet she suddenly didn’t recognize me.

The last time I saw her for a hair appointment was month one. Back then giving up alcohol was yet another “booze break experiment” I had committed to.

But, that day in month five, my hairstylist gave me the funniest look. An awkward silence lingered in the air in the tiny salon reception area. Normally, it’s a cheerful “Hey, lady…how have you been?”

She was about to ask me if I needed a walk-in appointment when I said “hello” and broke the spell.

“Britt! Shit, I didn’t recognize you for some reason.”

I knew what the reason was. I was a different person now…inside and out.

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If You Wait for Perfection

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” Margaret Atwood brilliantly captures the liabilities of perfectionism in 11 words. I certainly don’t think this lesson only applies to writers. If we waited for perfection, we would never do many things.

We would never cook dinner for our loved ones, because the flavors were slightly off-balance or the meat was a little dry. We would stay in a “secure” salaried position until we reached retirement, because the passion business venture we want to launch is uncertain and risky—and probably, a stupid idea.

If we waited for perfection, we would second-guess our ability to say the right words when someone close to us was having a hard time—because who are we to understand whatever it is that person is going through? We would never make love, tell stories, or see the world.

During the pursuit of perfection, we sabotage our own potential and the impact we have on those around us. Perfectionism is really just fear in disguise. And, the fear of “what might happen” paralyzes us.

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