1. Morning walks. I’m not gonna lie, I’m human and some mornings it just feels too early, too dark, too hard to get up, especially knowing I have to go out into the world instead of staying home in my pjs, which is always my preference. And yet, once I’m up and we are out there, I am so glad to be there, feel so lucky. Fall is my favorite season in Colorado and I catch myself multiple times on any walk right now thinking, “I love it here so much.”

2. Ringo Blue. In particular I was thinking as I was putting this post together that there are a fair amount of pictures I take of him where any one else might look and think “cute” but I look and can see just how annoyed he is with the whole process. Example A: these pictures I took of him on one of our walks. He is so OVER it. 

3. Massage. The hydromassage chair at the gym, my masseuse Dana who I’ve been seeing for TEN years, and the ones Eric and I trade while we watch TV at night.

4. The shade in our backyard in the afternoon. I was sitting out with Ringo the other day, drinking a cup of green tea and waiting for Eric to come home. I was sitting facing our neighbors yard, which has NO shade in the late afternoon, thinking how lucky we are to be surrounded by yards with giant trees that shelter us, especially in the heat of summer. I know that neither of us will always be around, the trees or me and Ringo, and I’m so grateful for the time we do have.

5. My tiny family, tiny house, tiny life. Can I just stay here exactly like this forever? Is that really so much to ask?

Bonus joy: everything turning gold, the rabbitbrush and the asters, a washer and dryer in my house, electricity, the internet, smartphones that are also cameras and tiny computers and radios, listening to podcasts, music and the musicians who make and share it, watching TV and movies, the way the fading garden still feeds the birds, good neighbors, honey, bees, house shoes, comedy, making each other laugh, naps, training with Shelby and the gang, getting in the pool and the sauna, the radio always on in the kitchen, having a practice room and an office, house plants, cooler temperatures but still sunny days, the way grass feels on bare feet, the sound of the river in that one spot, brown noise, apples, cinnamon rolls from The Silver Grille, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.