1. Flowers in the bathroom. The ones from the Farmer’s Market this year have been making me so happy, are giving me goals for my own garden.

2. Moving my body. For years, I smashed myself to bits, and because I was younger and my body more forgiving; putting all those miles on, hammering the weights, spending hours and hours on the elliptical, and pushing through any pain was doable. In the past four years however, there’s been a distinct shift. I got help with my disordered eating and I experienced various injuries and illnesses, all of which made me reconsider my relationship with my body. In the past year, I’ve been more of an advocate for myself, got the kind of help and support I needed when I was hurting. I’ve also found some ways of moving that I absolutely adore and that do no harm.

3. The sweetest mail. I love writing this blog. It is so satisfying and such good writing practice. The fact that anyone reads it is a bonus. The fact that the people who read it are kind and gentle and supportive makes me so happy. And when they take time out of their lives to tell me they appreciate what I’m doing here, that’s just the best.

4. Our garden. We aren’t sure exactly why, but it hasn’t been quite as productive this year, (except for the bindweed, which has been prolific). Each year we add a little, change a little, fail a little, but it always makes me so happy. I would much rather have a chaos of flowers, fruit, veggies, weeds, bugs and bees than a perfect green lawn.

5. My tiny family. I am going to miss them so much when I have to go back to work.

Bonus joy: going to the movies with Eric, finally figuring out the source of the recurring issue with my knees (pes anserine tendonitis/bursitis, not really even my knees) and hopefully coming up with a better fix or at the very least method to manage it, water aerobics, Pilates, peach pie, sleeping in, good books, good TV (Queen Sugar and Insecure’s 2nd seasons are SO good), the cooler weather, Wild Writing, texting, a perfectly ripe avocado, sweet potato and black bean quesadillas with homemade tortillas.