1. Morning walks. Ringo is getting better and yet we are still taking shorter walks in the morning. This week I decided to risk some of our favorite spots by the river and the ponds and the lake, even though I knew there would still be mosquitoes. There were, and it was so worth it.

2. Practice. Last year today, I posted on Facebook: “We should all take responsibility for the harm we do, making amends when possible. One primary way to minimize harm is to heal our own wounds. When we are hurt, instead of denying it, avoiding it, trying to escape it, or lashing out, we must direct our efforts at healing. Otherwise we will continue to generate suffering, cause pain, intentionally and unintentionally, for ourselves and others.” Still so true, maybe even more so now, and practice is the primary way I know how to do this.

3. The effort of all those making our lives better, easier. Whenever I watch the credits after a movie or watch a behind the scenes piece about the making of a movie, I am always amazed how many people, how much work it takes to make a single film. All that effort for a few short hours of content. When I expand that thinking to all the effort that occurs simply to make things run, I can hardly hold space for it all. In particular, my heart is holding space in this moment for all the teachers and parents and students going back to school, as well as all the nurses, doctors, scientists, EMS, pharmacists, office managers, maintenance crews, etc. that are keeping our medical systems going, doing everything they can to keep us healthy, to get us well when we get injured or are ill.

4. The way music can connect me to an earlier time. This morning, I’m listening to a satellite station called “2K Mellow Hits” and remembering what my life was like twenty years ago, what the world was like, feeling gratitude for all the good memories and all the struggles that are no longer, missing the friends and dogs who are no longer here. It’s good to move on, to grow and evolve, but it’s also good to remember where you’ve been, who you are and what you care about — the parts that don’t change even when you forget them for a bit.

5. My tiny family, my tiny house, my tiny life. Eric went back to work this week and Ringo and I are really missing him. It will probably take a few weeks to get used to it, get in a new routine. For now we are just letting ourselves be sad, and to love a little bit extra on each other when we are together.

Bonus joy: our garden harvest, clean laundry, grocery pickup, a big glass of cold clean water, a warm shower, podcasts, good TV (just watched the last season of Shetland), other people’s dogs, bike lanes, a/c, aqua aerobics, small group training with Shelby, sitting in the sauna with Eric, naan, bees, birds at our feeder and in the bath, good neighbors, down blankets and pillows, writing and hanging out with Calyx, texting with Mom and Chris, vaccines and face masks, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.