Gratitude Friday

1. Walking with the dogs in the morning. Even when my glasses won’t stop fogging up, or someone has their “friendly” dog offlead, or we run into a herd of deer, or there is a racoon poking its head out of a storm drain, or both dogs won’t stop eating goose poop and horse poop and cat poop and something else gross I think might be poop, or Ringo keeps eating grass and wanting to pick up sticks and I have to say “leave it, drop it, don’t eat it” what feels like a thousand times, or both dogs have to stop and smell everything, or when Sam almost pees on Ringo’s head, or it’s muddy and wet, or someone is already in the little dog park so we don’t get to go in, or I’m so cold I can’t feel my butt anymore, or my knee hurts, or my back hurts, or I’m tired and just want to be home already — even then.

2. Colorado sky. So pretty, so variable.

3. Time with amazing women, who are creative, and smart, and kind, and funny.

4. Friday. Walking the dogs, working from home, doing laundry, Wild Writing class, lunch with a friend, Nose Work class with Ringo, the end of a long week.

5. My tiny family. They are my favorites.

1. Colorado sky. Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s even real.

2. Morning walks with the dogs. Last week, we saw two baby beavers in the above pond. So tiny!

3. Being healthy and strong, and all the people and various practices that keep me that way.

4. Sweet Sam and Ringo Blue. Maybe you are tired of hearing me say this, but we really are in the golden years with these two — no one is old or dying or a baby, and no one is sick or hurt.

5. Flowers in the bathroom. This week Eric bought me lilies, and once they all bloomed, we barely had any counter space left!

6. Flowers in my garden. A friend sent me some daffodil bulbs last fall, so I bought some tulips and crocuses to add to the mix and even managed to get them all planted. By the time they came up and started blooming, I’d forgotten about them. It was such a wonderful surprise!

Bonus joy: a Falafel wrap from Whole Foods, a massage, clean sheets, a glass of cold clean water, the way Ringo stands next to me so close that one of his feet is on top of mine, the way Sam kisses me first before lying down next to me when he gets in bed in the morning, the way Eric and I can make each other laugh, postponing a conversation until I’m really ready to have it, the way the shamrock plant I have in my office at work leans into the sun so hard and fast that I have to turn her around twice a day just to keep her standing up straight.