1. Morning walks. With Eric off work, when I go, we all four go together, and that’s the best kind of walk, no matter what time of day.

2. Holiday food. When I think about traditions of celebration, they almost always involve particular kinds of food and gathering together to eat that food. Having leftovers to get you through the days that follow when all you want to do is read, take naps, and cuddle is an extra bonus.

3. Naps and reading books. These are two of my favorite things, no matter what time of year, it’s just that during this season I’m more likely to do them more often and with WAY less resistance, (i.e. it can often be hard for me to relax into the joy of it because I can’t stop thinking about all the other things I could be doing).

4. Sweet Sam. Just like our first dog, Obi, Sam really is the best dog to hang out with when all you want to do is rest and relax and be lazy or when you are sick and just need comfort and love. When I go and get in bed during the day and he knows we are going to take a nap, it makes him super happy.

5. Ringo Blue. One of his favorite things on a walk is to find lost, abandoned things, pick them up and carry them home – socks, gloves, toys, baby things, water bottles, balls, sticks. Our front porch looks like the Isle of Misfit Toys. He’s also very very very handsome.

6. Eric. He’s my favorite.

Ringo helping open Christmas presents while Sam naps.

“Is that one for me, Dad?”

Bonus joy: sitting in the dark with just the lights of our Christmas tree, all the great presents and cards, aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna with Eric, good TV (we’ve been watching a few series with Monty Don, a master gardener from England, and it has both of us excited about working on our garden next season), good books (I just finished The Miniaturist, in fact spent one whole day in my pjs reading because I couldn’t put it down), taking some time off from just about everything, anything citrus.