1. Our bathroom remodel will be done by the end of the day. I could honestly make the whole list about just this one thing this week. We’ve already been able to use the shower, which seems like some kind of magic after a month without. All of the people who came and worked on it were great, really knew what they were doing and were nice to us and our dogs. It was a big effort and expense, but I feel so lucky we were able to do it, am so grateful for it.

I can only post this picture that shows how gross it was before because it’s pretty and clean now

2. Quesadillas. Seriously, they just might be the perfect food — the crunch of the tortilla, the warm gooey inside, the salsa and sour cream and avocado on top. Yum.

3. Teaching. I did another Wild Writing, Crazy Wisdom workshop last weekend, and it was so good. This morning, the question in my Q&A 5 Year Journal was “Where do you find joy?” and I surprised myself by writing down teaching as the thing first in my list, even adding “whoa, that’s unexpected!” For probably the first 10 years I taught, I hated it and then didn’t like it and then tolerated it and then noticed a few rare moments that were good, but since I’ve shifted to teaching yoga, meditation, and writing on my own, not for a university, I’ve found what there is to really love about it, and I think I’m pretty good at it too.

4. Dharma of Writing Group. I seriously love everything that Susan Piver puts together, but this is one of my favorites. We wrote together last night, and I realized something that made me feel so happy — I’m living the life of a writer. I had already spent most of the day writing, and that wasn’t unusual for me. I woke up first thing and wrote, and then was blogging, working on content for a writing class about cultivating practice, had just taught a workshop over the weekend, had written another section of the book I’m working on, just got a copy of the latest Mabel Magazine that has something I wrote in it, and am heading to Shambhala Mountain Center next weekend for a writing and meditation retreat with Susan, (another thing I’m extra grateful for). I realized that there were some people in the group who don’t write that regularly, for whom last night’s session was a sort of special occasion, and I remembered that used to be me too.

5. My tiny family. Eric has been taking the dogs to the “little dog park” in the morning, where Ringo chases a tennis ball and they run around. It really wears Ringo out, and that’s hard to do. I’m so happy how well the dogs did with the remodel, with all the noise and the people coming in and out all the time. There were even days with particular people that I could let the dogs out, not have to crate them the whole time. I’m also finding more and more in all kinds of ways big and small what a good partner Eric is, how kind and funny and smart. I texted him the other day that the plumbing was all in and even though the bathroom wasn’t all the way done, our contractor said we could use the shower, and Eric texted me a picture of himself that looked like he’d lost his mind. I laughed so hard I almost dropped my phone.

Bonus joy: teaching yoga without needing to make an exact plan, having studied and practiced enough that I can show up and put together a good class, my favorite student who comes consistently every week, good friends in person and online, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in more ways than one, looking forward to a weekend of wrapping presents and making cookies and taking showers and maybe even a long bath and for sure giving my stinky dogs baths.

Lights in Old Town

1. It’s Friday. The first week back after a break is always a rough reentry, add to that the chaos of the work going on in our bathroom and I am ready for the weekend.

2. My foot is getting better! This makes me stupid happy. Even just a week ago, I wasn’t sure it would ever get better.

3. Sam and Ringo. Playing in the snow, being so good about all the strange men in our house making all kinds of weird noises, Ringo finally finally finally growing up, Sam being so sweet always wanting me to share a particular down blanket with him, touching it with his nose or paw and then looking at me in that certain way to communicate he’d like to lie down on it.

4. Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas, with sour cream, salsa, and avocado on top. They are just so good.

5. Eric. How he makes me laugh, how patient he’s been about my foot which has meant he’s done ALL the dog walking for months (that’s a lot of miles, people), how he thinks to buy flowers and take them to Thanksgiving dinner, how kind he is, and his wicked mad skills in the kitchen.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel now

6. Progress on the bathroom. It’s starting to look like one now, and seeing the tile and colors I chose all put together is a relief — you pick them from a few samples but you just don’t know until it’s all up if you picked right. The whole thing might run a day or two over schedule, but I still feel like it was totally worth it.

7. Adele’s new album. It’s all I’ve been listening to for a week and I’m still not tired of it.

8. Mabel Magazine #4. I got my copy in the mail yesterday and it’s so good. The theme is “what’s next.”

My piece, pages 36-37. Full title “every one of us is called upon,” from a Barbara Kingsolver quote.

Bonus joy: Yoga, my Kindle, reading, taking naps, wool socks, being able to say no, financial stability, good stable comfortable shoes, eating what I want, being able to walk two miles on the treadmill or ride the bike for 1/2 an hour without my foot hurting, good friends.