1. Morning walks. I only have pictures from the first one of the week, when it first started snowing. For all the rest we had to wait until later in the day because it was anywhere from -1 up to about 6 degrees every morning, and that’s just too cold. So we waited until later and walked around our neighborhood instead of by the river. Ringo is feeling much better but we are still being careful, taking short slower walks.

2. Wild Writing with Laurie. It’s been at least 10 years now I’ve been writing with Laurie Wagner, and the Friday morning session I take part in has women in it I’ve also been writing with for a long time, including two of my best friends. Practicing long term with these women is magic, medicine. Doing this practice with the same small group of people over time is a sort of intimacy that’s hard to cultivate, but so easy with these gorgeous writers I love so much.

3. Flowers in the bathroom. It won’t be long now before things start to green up, warm up, bud and bloom. I am one of those weirdos that loves a mild winter like we have in Fort Collins, and fall is actually my favorite season, but the return of the green and my garden is something I look forward to every year, and these flowers Eric got me are reminding me that even though there’s still snow on the ground, spring is coming.

4. Trying new recipes. I am looking for new recipes that use lots of vegetables but are also super yummy, so various salads and such. Our fridge is stuffed full right now of all kinds of good things and I’ve got close to ten recipes I’ve yet to try and a few we already did. (And p.s., I sure wish companies like Driscoll’s and Kroger treated their employees better).

5. My tiny family, tiny house, tiny life. Eric is on Spring Break this week. Other than hanging out with him and him getting some much needed ease and rest, my favorite thing about him being on break is when he gets bored, he cleans. Ringo makes it easier to have just one dog right now by being so happy as an only, and as an older dog he’s also so much less work than when he was younger. He’s also becoming a super good nap buddy.

Bonus joy: swimming laps, sitting in the sauna, the hydromassage chair, aqua aerobics, small group training with Shelby, comedy shows, snow tires, ice scrapers, snow shovels, down and wool, gummies, strawberries, bread, a big glass of clean cold water, a warm shower, clean sheets, blankets, making art with Calyx, my therapist, reading, writing, meditating, texting with Mom and Chris and Chloe’, neighbors who recognize you and wave as you drive by, other people’s dogs, heat, electricity, the internet, healthcare professionals and facilities workers, masks and vaccines, being able to help, listening to music and podcasts, watching TV and movies, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Morning walks. They weren’t all that exciting this week, short and sweet. Ringo strained his elbow on an early morning and very cold run on Saturday, got his limp back, so we’ve been taking it easy with him, only going around our neighborhood. He’s on the mend and we are taking it slow. Even if it wasn’t over the water, the river or the ponds, we can still see the sun rise in the sky over our house.

 2. Trying new recipes. In particular this past week I was looking for baked oatmeal recipes to try. This strawberry baked oatmeal with fresh strawberries on top was super yummy. I also have a bunch of salad recipes saved on Instagram I want to try. I always follow the recipe the first time, to know how the author intended it to taste, and then, if I like it enough to make it again, I make tweaks according to my preferences. I love how cooking can be both creative and restorative.

3. Swimming laps. I have a goal to be able to swim a mile, which is 63 laps in the pool at my gym. I can currently do 13 before I get too tired, which for some reason when I swim translates as dizzy. I swim with a snorkel because with my anxiety about drowning and the claustrophobia of putting my face in the water, I’ve never really learned to both swim and breathe on my own, so the snorkel makes that part easier. I don’t have to worry about it, I just swim. Recently, since I recommitted to swimming laps, something shifted. I don’t really know how or why, but now putting my face in the water, having my ears under as well, feels really soothing where it used to trigger panic. I still use the snorkel because it continues to make things easier, but now the whole process feels a bit more like joy.

4. Ringo. Oh boy, can he be a real jerk, but he’s also hilarious and sweet. This week he found another friend while he was out on his walk. It’s so cute how happy it makes him, and he almost seems proud of himself. When he was a baby, he had a special love for water bottles. He once carried a baby doll for almost two miles. I think he believes he’s captain of the neighborhood lost & found or head of recycling.

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. The world can seem so big, so broken, but this safe haven, this big love, this soft place to land gives me reasons every single day to not give up.

Bonus joy: making art with Calyx, Hendrix’s first birthday, strawberries and raspberries, drive through pharmacies, tacos with Carrie, texting with Chloe’ and Mom and Chris, the 300+ people who showed up for my uncle’s funeral, kittens, other people’s dogs, hot coffee with hot cocoa and tiny marshmallows, aqua aerobics, vaccines and masks, good TV (Somebody Somewhere on HBO is so good), listening to podcasts, that corner of the couch, cuddling with Ringo and hugging Eric, sitting together on the couch doing nothing, sitting in the sauna, the hydromassage chair, my nutritionist, my therapist, my primary care physician, access to the support I need, watching Guy’s Grocery Games with Eric and making each other laugh, gummy supplements, down and wool, hot clean water, watercolors, house plants, naps, small group training with Shelby, meditating before the sun comes up in the morning, writing, Wild Writing with Laurie and my writing sangha, stickers, my HappyLight, clothes that are soft and loose, stretching, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.