Gratitude Friday

1. Morning walks. Right now we are having all the weather — warm and dry, cold and wet, snow, and even fog. Spring in Colorado can be pretty chaotic when it comes to weather. This week, we saw a heard of white tailed deer and a fox. When Ringo saw the fox, he does what he does sometimes in that situation and stood up on his hind legs and growled like a baby bear.

2. Friday + Pay Day + Bonus Pay. All three at once is a pretty good deal.

3. Care package from one of my favorite cousins. If I wasn’t already feeling better, this would have perked me right up. And the fact that she got the brownies with walnuts in them proves how just smart she is. (Because I know you are wondering, Mom — it was Alyssa).

4. Ringo and Sam. Sam had a bit of a setback this week, is in some pain and limping more. We either pushed him too far in his physical therapy or he slipped or something. Hopefully we caught it and are caring for it in a way that it doesn’t set him back too much. He has the very best doctor and techs and two humans who love him like crazy, so I’m not worried, (well, sometimes I’m worried, but I know I shouldn’t be). Ringo has been mostly really good while Sam is resting, and when he’s not good he’s so cute that we end up forgiving him for it.

Ringo found this tiny giraffe on our walk the other day and carried it half a block, but I made him leave it because it was too small, a choking hazard. He was out with Eric the next day, found it and carried it the whole way home. Yesterday he found a tennis ball at Little Dog Park and carried it all the way home. Our front porch sometimes looks like the island of misfit toys.

5. Flowers. Some in the bathroom, others in the kitchen, and even a few in my flowerbed. Daffodil season makes me especially happy.

Bonus joy: getting back to Pilates, a warm shower, clean sheets, taking myself out to lunch, getting most of my work done, laughing with Eric, worrying with Eric, Sam getting just a little bit better even though he was worse, being able to do something for Sam even if I can’t completely fix him, practicing patience and surrender, cuddling with Ringo, cleaning up the house, getting the laundry done, good TV, a good book, staying up in bed at night reading, getting a good night’s sleep, my “new” car, our “new” fence, our “new” bathroom, Wild Writing, texting with people I love but don’t get to see every day (or even every year), baby donkeys.

1. Morning walks. This was pretty much the only time I was off the couch or out of bed and wearing something other than pajamas last week. I was sick with strep throat and Eric was gone at a conference and Sam is still on restriction, so Ringo and I were on our own.

2. Paid sick leave. There was no way I could have worked this week, although I did a few things from home. My brain and body just couldn’t function beyond taking care of the bare necessities for me and the dogs.

3. The essentials for being sick. This time around they were plenty of clean pjs, clean sheets, Kleenex with lotion (because after a few days of blowing and wiping my nose with toilet paper it felt like my nostrils were ringed with a thousand tiny paper cuts), orange juice and oranges and orange sherbert, antibiotics, cough syrup with codeine, ibuprofen, Butternut Squash soup, onion rolls, House Hunters Renovation, lots of tea, health insurance, and my infrared heating pad.

4. Sam and Ringo. They were so good for me while Eric was away and I was sick, so patient and sweet. They got me out of bed every morning, but also let me sleep most of the day and kept me from feeling too lonely or sorry for myself.

5. Eric. He almost got stuck because a storm moved in his last day in DC, but he did everything he could, even drove to another airport, to get a flight out and get home to me.

Bonus joy: getting some real clarity about changes I want to make in my life even when I was feeling so crappy I couldn’t get off the couch, flowers blooming, being able to take time off and rest without beating myself up about it, getting enough sleep, a kind and available and smart primary doctor, good friends who check on me and are on standby ready to help, feeling better bit by bit.