Gratitude Friday

1. My bed. After being gone over the weekend, it felt so good to sleep here again.

2. Flowers in the bathroom. It’s especially nice when they last a long time.

3. Food I can only get in Oregon. My aunt sent me two jars of marionberry jam for Christmas, and when I was in Oregon my cousin gave me four more, to which another aunt added a jar of gooseberry jam. I smuggled them all home in my suitcase, and they all got here safely. My mom also made a pineapple upside down cake while I was there and I had lunch at Burgerville in the airport before flying home. YUM.

4. Practice. Yoga, writing, meditation, and dog, all on the regular, saving my life every day.

5. My tiny family. I was only gone barely four days, but I missed them. They are my favorites, my normal.

Sam’s new bed is so big it almost makes him look tiny.

Bonus joy: aqua aerobics, Wild Writing, clean sheets, snow, morning walks, watching The Great British Baking Show with Eric (we watched all four seasons — what are we going to watch now? *sob*), two flights on which the planes didn’t fall out of the sky, good friends who will “go all mom on you” when you really need it.

1. Walking. Because of my knees, it causes me some discomfort for sure, but I’m so grateful I am still able to go, to make it work. Being out in the still quiet and sometimes dark of morning with my dogs is one of the things that keeps me sane.

2. Practice. All of the ones I do, (writing, yoga, meditation, and dog), invite me to show up, not give up but rather let go and surrender, keep my heart soft and open, be with whatever arises, and be vulnerable, willing to be hurt. That’s the good news and the bad.

3. Morning skies. Especially in the winter in Colorado, the sky does some amazing things.

4. Wild Writing. We started a new session today, and I’m so glad to be back at it.

5. My tiny family. I don’t have any pictures from this week, but trust me — they are as cute as ever. To make up for it, here’s a picture of my favorite neighbor, who just turned 14 years old.

Bonus joy: the weekend, good books (I just finished The Burning Girl: A Novel by Claire Messud), good TV (Eric and I are still watching and loving The Great British Baking Show), good podcasts that I never seem to have time to listen to, Emergen-C, oranges, Meyer lemons, clementines, sweet potatoes, marionberry jam, getting all the laundry done on Friday, working from home, soft clothes, wool socks, down blankets and pillows, our new fence, texting, the internet, libraries, a working furnace, a washer and dryer in my house, health insurance, clean water, clean sheets, sleeping in.