1. SNOW! So much snow! 23 inches. Eric was out shoveling throughout the day the storm got here, probably close to six hours of shoveling heavy, wet snow that one friend called “cement.” It’s always sad to see all the limbs and whole trees that come down, the crocuses that just bloomed buried, but we truly do need the moisture and being “stuck” at home with nowhere we need to go, even after a full year of the pandemic, is still a lovely retreat.

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2. Comfort. While Eric shoveled snow, I made a breakfast biscuit bake, Ringo approved. Eric has been home this week not working (spring break) and it’s been nice to have him around, again when there’s nowhere we need to go. Some people lost power during the storm, but ours only blinked a few times. Warm showers, clean sheets, toast, that corner of the couch, clean pjs, down blankets and pillows, podcasts, good TV (watched The One on Netflix, so good), reading, long naps.

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3. Vaccine Phase 1B.4 in Colorado. To be more specific, that means we can get ours now. I’ve been refreshing my healthcare app all morning, waiting for them to catch up so I can make an appointment. I’m getting a mammogram today so I don’t have to put that off because of my shots, (turns out the immune response it causes in your lymph nodes can throw off the results, so if you’ve had the shot, you have to wait 4-6 weeks until you can get a mammogram).

4. BABIES! We’d already had a couple new ones join the family this past year, but two others just got here, a earlier than expected.

5. My tiny home, my tiny family, my little life. Ringo was pretty reserved about it the day of the storm, but in the days since, when it’s warm enough for us to go out in the backyard with him, he’s been loving all piles of snow and the attention and the play. It’s been lovely having lazy days, afternoons in particular, with Eric home this week. Sure, it would be nice if we could go see a movie or go out to eat, but that will happen again someday and for now, two introverts in love don’t mind this version of things.

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Bonus joy: clementines, grocery pickup, stimulus checks, my writing sangha, hanging out and writing with Mikalina, snow tires, snow plows, sunshine, texting with my mom and my brother, naan, seeing patches of green under the snow, birds singing and at the feeder (sometimes simultaneously), a new notebook, so many good books and the time to read them, being retired, sitting in the sauna with Eric, getting all the laundry done and put away, masks, other people’s dogs, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.