1. The river. I’ve always been lucky enough to live near water — rivers, lakes, the ocean (except for that year I lived in Arizona) — and I’m so happy that where I live now is so close to the river and multiple ponds. With the river in particular, I love to see how it changes through the seasons.

2. Morning walks. This week was colder, so on a few walks we waited until the sun came up to leave the house, missed the sunrise and walked in the full sun. Ringo’s arthritis was acting up, so we didn’t go quite as far and stayed on the paved trails, and one day we walked on the opposite side of the river than we normally do, so we had a whole new view.

3. Practice. Practicing both together (wild writing with my writing sangha, making art with Calyx, meditating with Chelsey, walking with Ringo) and alone. I’m also super grateful to have a therapist who comes from a similar background and understands the intention, the process, the view.

4. Content. Books, TV, movies, podcasts, and music. It would take me multiples lifetimes to consume it all, and sometimes that makes me sad. I suppose it also makes me more selective, more careful about what I choose to engage with. I’m also learning to skim or even quit if I’m not loving something, and choosing first the thing I’m the most excited about when I start anything new, which means I’m always engaged with the best, or at least it feels that way to me.

5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. It’s everything I ever wanted.

Bonus joy: clean sheets, a warm shower, the new clocks I got, watercolors, gummies, vaccines, masks, telehealth, that corner of the couch, long hugs with Eric, the hydromassage chair, the pool, sitting in the sauna with Eric, my new gym bag, fry sauce, snow tires, snow, a big glass of clean cold water, apple pie oatmeal, raspberries, Ringo’s physical therapy vet and tech (really, all of Red Sage), pain medication, napping with Ringo, listening to podcasts, watching TV, listening to music, Elyse Myers on Instagram (she also has two albums that I really love), Joy Oladokun (so good!), birds at the feeder, squirrels at the compost pile, other people’s dogs and kids, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

1. Morning walks. This week was cold, gray, and icy, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

2. The pool. I went for many many years avoiding being in a a pool, saying I “hated” the water, that it was nice to look at and I didn’t need to get in it to appreciate it. I started taking aqua aerobics classes when the arthritis and various injuries in my knees would no longer allow me to run (another activity I used to “hate” but learned to love), and I started to enjoy being in the water.

When I turned 50, I decided I wanted to learn to actually swim. I’d taken lessons as a kid, but only learned to be afraid and embarrassed and had a lot of lingering shame about it. I had some real resistance as well — fear of drowning, not liking the feel of my face in the water, the claustrophobia and panic it triggered.

I got a really good coach who understood that I needed help with the mental/emotional stuff as well as mastering the physical skill. He was kind and funny and a really good teacher. I eventually got goggles, a nose plug, flippers, and a swim snorkel (the fear of drowning and claustrophobia, learning to breathe in the process, in the water, is something I haven’t mastered yet, and a snorkel in particular allows me to bypass that in the meantime).

When COVID hit and the gym closed and I couldn’t get in the pool, I got out of the habit of swimming. When things opened back up, I went right back to aqua aerobics but haven’t been consistent about swimming. To get back to it and give myself something to work towards, I’ve set a goal of being able to swim a full mile by May. To give you a sense of the difficulty level: a mile in my pool would be about 64 laps (with one lap being up and back) and right now I can do about 10 before I start feeling dizzy and have to stop. Wish me luck.

3. Wild Writing with my beloved friend and teacher, Laurie Wagner, and all my writing friends, my sangha. It’s so dear to me, so necessary, and we are finally back together again after a break for the holidays.

4. Healthcare that I can access and afford. For us humans and our dog(s). Physical therapy and vaccines are on the top of the list.

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. Always.

Bonus joy: the hydromassage chair, sitting in the sauna with Eric, roasted vegetables, good TV, listening to podcasts, chocolate covered graham crackers, that corner of the couch, down pillows and blankets, headlamps, other people’s dogs, my smartphone, my laptop, being able to stream TV without commercials, calendars, orange juice (in particular mixed with cranberry pomegranate juice), good music, good good books, the fur that grows long between Ringo’s toes in the winter, laughing with Eric, gummies, canceled plans, coffee with hot cocoa and tiny marshmallows, a big glass of clean cold water, pain medication, good friends.