It’s the little things in life that matter — finding moments of joy amid the coronavirus pandemic

Pre-coronavirus, watery eyes and happy cries were reserved for promotions, birthday surprises and graduations, but now the simplest things are making us happy.

With the widespread COVID-19 outbreak, commonplace and essential items like hand soap, toilet paper and disinfectant wipes have turned into luxury items.

Finding them is a cause for celebration, especially when it doesn’t seem like there’s much to celebrate.

But what about the “little things in life?” Those everyday, mundane tasks or things that we take for granted and which now have taken on whole new meaning?

For when you’re feeling down or just need a reminder of the little joys in life, here’s a list of some of the things that are bringing us joy as we all stay at home.

We’d also like your list of five things that are bringing you joy during this pandemic, those little things that suddenly mean a whole lot more. Email your list of five to audience@suntimes.com. We’ll share them with our readers. And hopefully spread a whole lotta cheer, too.

• A toy that keeps your kid entertained for longer than five minutes.
• A toy that occupies your dog for longer than five minutes.
• Low-key enjoying wearing pajamas almost every day.
• Cooking something new.
• Being able to do one more rep in an exercise during your workout.
• Seeing how happy your dog is to have you home 24/7.
• Drinking coffee in bed.
• Realizing you don’t need to stress about your messy house because no one is coming over anyway.
• Creating a happy family on “The Sims” who aren’t afraid of being near each other.

• The feeling of accomplishment when you see a seed sprout from the garden you finally started.
• Having dinner at a normal time because everyone is already home when work is over.
• Finally hanging that wall art that’s been sitting in the closet since forever.
• Not having to put on makeup every day.
• Not having to shave.
• All the money you’re saving on gas.
• The shortened commute, because from bed to computer is a much easier daily trek.
• When your kid’s nap is at the same time as your work conference call.
• Finishing a 1,000-piece puzzle!

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• Restaurants offering takeout wine, beer and margaritas with your meal.
• Mowing the lawn. (When did this become fun?)
• Washing your car. (Really, when’s the last time you did that?)
• Watching a toddler play with bubbles.
• Putting moisturizer on your dry, well-washed hands.
• Getting to the bottom of the laundry basket.
• Going old school and mailing letters to family (with cute stamps).
• Getting just a bit better at painting the nails on your dominant hand.
• Bluetooth headphones that connect to my kid’s tablet. The Wiggles are great but I just. can’t. anymore.
• Finding peanut M&M’s in the back of the cupboard that survived past snack patrols.
• Getting a working thermometer delivered.
• Waking up and realizing that feeling healthy is the greatest gift.

Now it’s your turn. We’d like your list of five things that are bringing you joy during this pandemic — those little things that suddenly mean a whole lot more. Email your list of five to audience@suntimes.com.