1. Sunrise. I haven’t been going on morning walks (with Eric on break, they’ve been running in the morning and I’ve been sleeping a bit later), and yet I still get to see the sun rise, which is especially beautiful this time of year.

2. Eating “normal” food. My CT scan results found that my abscess is “resolved” so I can start to eat more fiber again, which means a much more expansive and joyful eating experience. I’ve been eating oatmeal from breakfast the past few days with a modified version of this apple compote recipe. I modify it by using Penzeys pie spice blend instead of all the individual spices the recipe calls for.

3. Christmas. It was also a bit modified this year (especially our dinner menu), but every bit as lovely. With all the travel horror stories, the brutal weather and canceled flights and people getting sick, I was happy to be safe at home with my tiny family.

4. Rest. I’ve been getting so much and it is greatly appreciated.

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. There’s no where I’d rather be, no one I’d rather be with.

Bonus joy: a whole new year (and yes, I realize time and calendars are “made up”), writing in the morning with a hot cup of tea, my weighted blanket, the lights on our tree, the rosemary bush our old neighbor’s gave us when they moved, texting with Mom and Chris, marionberry jam, down blankets and pillows, clean sheets, naps, snow, good TV (finished It’s a Sin on HBO and started the second season of Sort Of on the same), clean laundry, pay day, watching The Great British Baking Show with Eric, the sweet text he sent me when I was spinning out about my possible upcoming surgery, pictures of Hendrix sledding, Pickle the cat, that our new neighbors had to block the part of the fence we cut out to allow the ash tree on our property line to stay when we put in our new fence because their little dog could sneak through into our yard, that the chicken and rice and veggie teriyaki bowls I like so much are Eric’s favorite too, gingerbread, yoga with Sarada, yoga with Abrona and Jamie too, the hydromassage chair and pool and sauna, how well Ringo has been doing with his arthritis even with all the snow and cold, new calendars, meditating to mantra tracks on Insight Timer, listening to podcasts, a warm shower, new books, oranges, grilled cheese sandwiches, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.