1. Morning walks. Summer is such a strange season for walking. Once it starts to warm up, you have to worry about ticks and then mosquitoes, and you can’t really hike higher up because then you also have to be careful of the rattlesnakes, and you can’t have a lazy morning because if you wait until the sun is all the way up, it’s too dang hot. There are also more people out early so we have to give up having the world mostly to ourselves. And yet, even in the “worst” season, there’s just nothing like an early morning walk with a dog or two — Ringo and I got to take a short walk with Grover and his Kahu this week, so bonus joy for sure.

2. Practice. Sitting on my meditation cushion in my practice room at home, practicing yoga at Red Sage, writing in the morning in front of my HappyLight, and writing, sharing, laughing, and sometimes even crying with my Friday morning writing sangha. 

3. Ringo. I love this time of year because once he blows his winter coat, his stars and spots are more visible and he’s not quite as dark.  Eric has been teasing me that he’s now “my dog.” When he was younger and liked to run and hike and play frisbee and in general be more rowdy, Eric was the cool dad and I was the boring human, but now that he’s gotten older and is the only dog and I’m home more often, he sticks closer to me. We’ve both noticed that now that he’s older, he insists on more affection, giving and getting it but mostly getting. My favorite shift in his behavior is he comes back with me into my office and hangs out with me while I write. In fact, right now he’s sleeping on the floor behind me.

4. Peony season. This was the last week for that, and the last few are currently starting to wilt in a vase on my desk and another in the bathroom. They are just so gorgeous, and each one has been planted in memory of someone I loved and lost — tender and terrible, beautiful and brutal.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. It’s everything I ever wanted and even better than I imagined. I’ve been loving sitting and talking with Eric in the backyard or on the couch now that he’s been home more often.

Bonus joy: fish sandwiches, oranges, strawberries, a big glass of clean cold water, book club, sitting in the shade with my bare feet in the grass, my tall spikey yellow centered white irises from my friend Ann who is no longer here but I’m reminded of her every year when they bloom, therapy and such every other week, being able to do what I can from a distance, naps, listening to podcasts, seeing Chris Fairbanks at The Comedy Fort last week and being able to pick out Chloe’ and Ralf’s laughs in the crowd, other people’s kids and dogs and gardens, delight, poetry and poets, comedy and comedians, libraries and librarians, true crime, writing 1000 words, reading in the morning before I write, a/c, our whole house fan, clean laundry, texting with my brother, sharing reels and memes with Shellie and Kari and Carrie, cancelled plans, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.