1. Morning walks. This week, we finally were able to walk by the river again. The weather has cooled enough that the mosquitoes are gone. I missed this part of the trail so much.

2. The colors of the Colorado sky. There were a few mornings it was a particular shade of lavender that seems almost impossible.

3. Space and rest. This is a big shift I’m making, and I really need the extra room, the extra stillness.

Post workout and pool and sauna

Sam “helping” me meditate

4. Tomatoes. Tis the season. Even though ours had a late start and are already slowing down as the weather cools, a friend gave us a 20 pound box from their garden, so I spend yesterday making roasted tomato soup and salsa. There is something so therapeutic about the chopping and the smell.

5. My tiny family. The love notes Eric leaves for me on the kitchen counter, Ringo’s belly feeling better (it was a bit wonky this week, requiring a visit with his favorite vet, some meds and mild meals for a few days), and how Sam is always checking on me, following me around like my shadow.

Bonus joy: new gym shoes, everything turning red and gold, naps, cooking, cooking enough to share, bran muffins with dried raspberries, good books, good TV, my infrared heating pad, teaching yoga, hanging out with Mikalina, having all the laundry done and folded and put away, making Eric laugh.

1. We did a thing. After a brief moment spent considering putting solar panels on our house, and with all the incentives and rebates available right now, it was too good to pass up: an all electric, 2019 Nissan Leaf. I am grateful that we can buy a whole new car without much hassle, that we have excellent credit and the necessary funds and privilege up the wazoo. I’m glad that so many things came together to make this an easy choice that just so happens to be good for the environment too.

2. Allowing myself the support I need. I had weaned myself off CBD, which I was taking for work stress, since I wasn’t working anymore. Turns out work was distracting me from a bunch of ongoing anxiety triggers and until I am more healed from my burnout and more settled into this new phase of my life, I actually need even more support than ever dealing with hsp, anxiety, and c-ptsd (which as a tag team trigger some pretty serious depression). Trying these new gummies cause even though Charlotte’s Web costs more, their products are such high quality they are my go-to when I try anything new.

3. Practice. I know for a lot of people the work, the journey, the path is primarily external – about getting somewhere, making a change that can be seen, going a way that can be tracked, offering something tangible. If you look at me and try to see some evidence of a shift, right now it would be hard to find because it’s mostly internal, happening in a landscape only I can see. I can’t offer you any proof of anything. You are just going to have to trust me. Thank goodness for practice, for the support I get from writing and meditation and yoga and dog(s).

4. Kitchen counter love notes. I can always count on Eric to be there for me. He’s my soft place to land, the one who can make me laugh no matter what is happening, the dude who gets up early to feed and walk the dogs so I can get another hour of sleep.

5. My tiny family. Along with Eric, Sam and Ringo are such a comfort and good company, provide so much joy and the occasional comedic relief.

Bonus joy: sometimes skipping the walk and yoga and the gym so I can stay home in the morning and putter around, good TV (they just added a bunch of new episodes of Call the Midwife on Netflix and the second season of I’m Sorry was just as funny as the first), good books (still working my way through all of Maya Angelou’s autobiographies and finishing up Tea and Cake with Demons: A Buddhist Guide to Feeling Worthy by Adreanna Limbach), having all the laundry done and put away, bran muffins with dried raspberries, fresh raspberries (I had forgotten how yummy they are!), sunny but cooler days, wearing a sweatshirt and socks, feeling stronger, reading, taking naps, cooking, libraries and librarians.