Category Archives: Gratitude Friday

Gratitude Friday

snowmoon1. A beautiful snowy morning walk, with the most amazing moon and sunrise. The day before it snowed it was so warm I wore sandals, but I was happy to see the snow.

2. Ringo in training class. He did so good. I was really tired, had been working straight through the day starting with teaching a yoga class at 7 am, and was tempted to skip training. But I already missed the week before, for the same reason, and if we skipped one more it would be essentially quitting the whole class since there are only four sessions total. We are already retaking it because Ringo got sick the last time and we had to miss the last two classes. I hadn’t been working with Ringo and I was afraid we’d do terrible, but he was amazing! At one point, I had him in a settle, the first step to a real down/stay, and he was just hanging out, watching the other dogs work while I walked further and further away from him, returning every once in a while to give him and treat, and he just stayed there! I couldn’t believe it. He loves working, loves the people there, gets so happy when I start packing his training stuff and he knows where we are going. On the way in, at the second set of doors, he sat and then threw back his head and howled a little he was so excited.

chocolatemuffins3. Tiny chocolate muffins, crunchy Gala apples and crunchy peanut butter, kale salad, clementines, the good chocolate, Marionberry jam, french toast with butter and maple syrup.

4. Cuddling with Sam. He gets into our bed a few hours before the alarm clock goes off and cuddles with me. I don’t hate it.

Om Ananda Yoga

Om Ananda Yoga

5. Teaching yoga. I’ve been subbing for my Wednesday and Friday morning class while our teacher is on vacation. Someone new to the class today came up afterwards and told me she was coming back to my class, that she appreciated how my teaching was “undriven by ego.” It was such a nice compliment.

Bonus Joy: The first week of Feast, Neil Gaiman’s new book (I’m supposed to go wait in line later today to have him sign it, but rumors are there will be 500 other people doing the same, so this hsp introvert hasn’t yet decided for sure if she’s going through with it), rereading this post he wrote when he lost his dog and crying again (the real reason I want to have him sign my book is so I can tell him that this blog post was my favorite thing he’s ever written), a whole entire weekend without a single plan, Ninja poetry, writing dates where the conversation is so wonderful we never even get to the writing, a new harness for Ringo that he hates just as much as all the others but which fits him so much better and seems like it will be more comfortable, seeing my neighbors out early in the morning walking their dogs, blue sky, people who are excited about their work, people who shovel their sidewalks when it snows, neighbors you like so much you are sad when they move, new music on its way from The Weepies and even better than that Deb Talan is officially in remission and cancer-free.

Gratitude Friday

medicinebuddha

Medicine Buddha at Om Ananda Yoga Studio

1. Yoga. Teaching it, practicing, learning more, cultivating a relationship with my body and the present moment, embodying practice.

2. Meditation. The Daily Dharma Gathering, connecting to my breath and the present moment, cultivating a friendship with myself, learning how my mind works, understanding what it means to relax.

marionberrysyrup

Pancakes by Eric, Marionberry sauce by my aunt, dog hair on the plate by either Ringo or Sam, eaten by me.

3. Marionberries, and all the tasty things you can make out of them. They only grow in Oregon, were developed in the place where I grew up — Marion County. I can order jam online, but still haven’t figured out a way to get pie delivered.

With an arrow so I don't miss it.

Love note from Eric with an arrow so I don’t miss it.

4. Eric. Laughing with him, hugging in the kitchen next to the warm oven, reminiscing about how much work Ringo was a year ago, the love notes he leaves me on the counter, how he asks me “Are you okay, Packo?” (Yup, that’s our nickname for each other, long story).

standoff

You can really see in this picture how much bigger Sam is than Ringo.

5. Sweet Sam and Ringo Blue. I still miss my Obi and Dexter, wish I had them back, am not over losing them, but I sure do love the two I have now.

Bonus Joy: Warmer weather which was like a little taste of Spring, watching a live streamed reading from poet David Whyte, my CSU work going well, teaching a yoga class of 15 people, the new twist and balance series I created, finding out I can order the Marionberry Jam I like so much direct from the company that makes it, writing and lunch dates with good friends, honoring my limits by skipping or canceling some things, prioritizing what’s important, remembering how much I like Field Report’s music, watching Glee even though it’s not as good as it was in the beginning.