1. Morning walks. These are happening later in the morning and shorter because it’s getting light so much later and Ringo is still on restriction. We’ve been waiting until it starts to get light, driving to our favorite spots, and getting there for the sunrise. It makes me so happy that we live close to lots of spots with water and trails, and that there are so many to choose from and so much beauty to see. I seem to take pictures of some of the same spots over and over again, but each time, the light and color is different and I notice something new.
2. The shift to fall. As much as I love certain things about each season, fall is my favorite — the weather, the light, the color, the slowing down and quieting of the world.
3. Good friends. Reminding each other we are human (and that’s hard but also beautiful), that we are here, that it’s worth it to keep going, and making each other laugh.
4. Family. This week I was craving my aunt Monica’s taco salad, so I put out the call and got three different copies from aunts and cousins. It was just as good as I remembered, and it made me smile that if I were to follow the recipe exactly, I’d have enough to feed the whole block, (my mom comes from a BIG family).
5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. Eric made it through his first week of classes. I miss him, but I also get more love notes and I certainly am not one to mind spending time alone. I’m happy to have Ringo here at home with me while Eric works, and to have a partner on my walks — whenever I see someone walking alone, I think “where’s your dog?” Some friends are really struggling with training their dog, and another one experienced a tragedy with hers, so I’m making sure Ringo knows that even though he can be a jerk, he’s a good boy and I appreciate him.
Bonus joy: a massage with Dana, getting in the pool and the sauna, peaches, bread and butter pickles, rain, bird song in the morning and crickets at night, writing and hanging out with Calyx, coffee with Carrie, Pickle the cat came home after being missing for a bit, tomatoes from our garden, grocery pickup, the drive through pharmacy, good books, listening to podcasts, watching TV, naps, cute pictures of babies I know and love, koala videos, birthdays, yellow, gummy vitamins, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 