Gratitude Friday

1. Morning walks. These are happening later in the morning and shorter because it’s getting light so much later and Ringo is still on restriction. We’ve been waiting until it starts to get light, driving to our favorite spots, and getting there for the sunrise. It makes me so happy that we live close to lots of spots with water and trails, and that there are so many to choose from and so much beauty to see. I seem to take pictures of some of the same spots over and over again, but each time, the light and color is different and I notice something new.

2. The shift to fall. As much as I love certain things about each season, fall is my favorite — the weather, the light, the color, the slowing down and quieting of the world.

3. Good friends. Reminding each other we are human (and that’s hard but also beautiful), that we are here, that it’s worth it to keep going, and making each other laugh.

4. Family. This week I was craving my aunt Monica’s taco salad, so I put out the call and got three different copies from aunts and cousins. It was just as good as I remembered, and it made me smile that if I were to follow the recipe exactly, I’d have enough to feed the whole block, (my mom comes from a BIG family).

5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. Eric made it through his first week of classes. I miss him, but I also get more love notes and I certainly am not one to mind spending time alone. I’m happy to have Ringo here at home with me while Eric works, and to have a partner on my walks — whenever I see someone walking alone, I think “where’s your dog?” Some friends are really struggling with training their dog, and another one experienced a tragedy with hers, so I’m making sure Ringo knows that even though he can be a jerk, he’s a good boy and I appreciate him.

Bonus joy: a massage with Dana, getting in the pool and the sauna, peaches, bread and butter pickles, rain, bird song in the morning and crickets at night, writing and hanging out with Calyx, coffee with Carrie, Pickle the cat came home after being missing for a bit, tomatoes from our garden, grocery pickup, the drive through pharmacy, good books, listening to podcasts, watching TV, naps, cute pictures of babies I know and love, koala videos, birthdays, yellow, gummy vitamins, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Signs of fall. Fall in Colorado is my favorite season. It cools down and there are fewer mosquitos but there are still tomatoes and some other things lingering in the garden. And now that I’m not working at a university, I can really feel the slowing down this season brings, the quiet.

2. Morning walks. Right now, we linger in the morning until it starts to get light before we leave, but soon enough I’ll need to get out my headlamp and just go.

3. Late summer produce. Peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, and corn.

4. Vaccines. I think of this every time I see the hospital, ICU, and ventilator numbers — most of which are made up of people who weren’t vaccinated. We still don’t know how this is all going to go, but this is a protection I’m so grateful for. I also saw that they are making headway on a vaccine for HIV because of what they’ve learned producing the one for COVID-19.

5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. I’m so lucky, so grateful.

Bonus joy: Dot’s Honey Mustard Pretzels, grocery pickup, gummy vitamins, sitting in the sauna with Eric, getting in the pool, good TV (watched The Cafe on BritBox, and it was so sweet, so sad it was only two seasons), podcasts, coffee with cocoa and marshmallows, pumpkins turning orange, my neighbor’s four dogs, rain, a big glass of cold clean water, clean sheets, writing and hanging out with Calyx, lunch with Carrie, Poudre Pet & Feed Supply, babies of all kinds, the way the top of Ringo’s head smells when he comes in after lounging in the sun, naps, a soft tshirt in one of my favorite colors, not having to wear a bra, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.