1. Morning walks. It rained so hard on Thursday, we couldn’t go, and I still haven’t seen the fox babies, but taking a walk with the dogs in the morning continues to be one of my favorite things almost two decades after the very first one.

I love walking with both dogs, but walking just one is SO much easier

2. Living near the river and the ponds. I feel so lucky we can walk out the front door and be at the river or the ponds in just a mile, and that there’s so much flora and fauna to see.

3. Spring. With all the rain last week, things are blooming and super green.

4. Ringo and Sam. There will most likely be a day when I don’t have dogs, but I can’t even imagine it.

This is his “throw the frisbee, Dad” face

5. Eric. I can’t wait to spend more time with him once we are both on summer break.

Bonus joy: being afraid and knowing there is a risk but saying what I know anyway, good TV (I thought when I watched the last episode of season three of Call the Midwife that the series was over, but there were actually four more seasons!), good books (I’m reading Janelle Hanchett’s new book I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering and So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo), the sound of the neighbor’s lawn mower, the chaos of bird song in the morning, a warm shower, clean sheets, only 7 days of work left, brunch with a friend, orange juice, rhubarb, CBD oil, good smelling soap, aqua aerobics, yoga, Pilates, writing, meditation, good people who are trying so hard, sleep.