1. Morning walks. I love spending the time with Ringo, getting the exercise, seeing the sun rise, hearing the birds sing. 

2. Practice. At Red Sage this week, there was a puppy, lots of laughter, moments of both calm and chaos — I loved it. My Friday morning writing sangha was magical, as usual. I’m currently reading Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn and it’s making me appreciate my meditation practice in a whole new way.

3. Cooking. I find it so empowering and lucky to be able to cook for myself the things I like to eat, to be able to modify recipes to my particular needs and tastes, and 90% of the time whatever gets cooked at home is so much better than anything you might buy. I also love feeding other people. Eric is always so appreciative of what I cook. Yesterday, I made mini zucchini breads and gingerbread muffins and shared them with our book club and another friend whose birthday had just passed. 

4. Streaming and on demand content. TV, films, music, podcasts, videos, articles, books, readings, classes, lectures, etc. It can get overwhelming sometimes and I don’t always make the healthiest choices, but I love being able to access pretty much whatever I want, whenever I want — without having to leave my house.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Home.

Bonus joy: being able to schedule things online (including rescheduling and even cancelling), Sunday morning Pilates, clean sheets, a warm shower, sitting in the backyard with Ringo, napping in the living room with Ringo, hanging out with Ringo doing just about anything, that his belly is doing better, that my brother and I are able to support each other and make good decisions regarding our parents and the care they’ve needed over the past few years to assist in their aging and dying and taking care of what is left behind after those tasks, toasted walnuts in quick breads and cookies, gummies, stickers, books, libraries and librarians, poetry and poets, comedy, true crime, Rom-Coms, crime dramas, documentaries, strawberries, fall turning everything into gold but the grass is still green, cute animal videos, the way the top of Ringo’s head smells after he’s been laying out in the sun, the chance to start over, writing in the morning in front of my HappyLight with a mug of hot green tea with matcha, dreams, pjs as daywear, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Morning walks. We went around the ponds and by the river on Friday because I expected there to be some peak fall color, to find that it’s only just starting — which is okay with me because that means there is still more to come. I know you’ve heard me say it a zillion times: fall in Colorado is my favorite season.

2. Long term relationships. In particular, shared experiences and inside jokes. For example, today we went to lunch at Mt. Everest Café and as we were getting up to leave, a rowdy group arrived, which reminded me of something that had happened probably 15 years ago, so I told Eric, even though he’d been there. We were at Woody’s Woodfired Pizza, which is no longer there, was replaced by an apartment complex. At Woody’s, you could order off the menu exactly what you wanted, or you could get the all-you-can-eat pizza and salad bar buffet. With the buffet, you could go up to where the pizza was being made and request just about any sort of pizza combination you could dream of and they’d make it. One time we were there, about half way through our meal, and I was up getting another few slices when a whole soccer team of boys about ten years old arrived for lunch after a game. A few were up checking out the pizzas already on the buffet, and I heard one say to the other, “Dude, let’s have an eating contest!” I went back to out table and told Eric what they’d said and that he’d better go get whatever else he wanted to eat because it was about to get wild. That’s one of the things I love about being together for so long — not only do we know how to make each other laugh, we have inside jokes, and there are funny stories we retell each other to make each other laugh again about something we already laughed about and told each other multiple times.

3. Ringo. I am so glad he’s finally feeling better. Eric just called out from the living room, “is he in there with you?” and he is, so close behind my chair, I’m afraid to move. He’s started this thing this summer where when it’s time for bed and I take him to the backyard to have him go potty one last time before we “get in” and instead of doing what he needs to do and coming right back in, he flops down in the grass and starts sniffing the air. I could get annoyed because I’m ready to go to bed and want to get this part over with, but instead, I remember that in just two months he’ll be 12 years old, and I have no idea how long we have left together, and someday I’m going to wish, be willing to give anything to just sit in the backyard with him as the sun is going down.

4. Practice. I felt I had nothing left to offer this week for yoga, but I went because I always feel better once I’m there, and this week was no different — I adore the crew at Red Sage. They light me up. As usual, my Friday morning writing sangha was magical, full of laughter and tears, gorgeous phrases and strange facts. And my meditation practice continues to keep me sane.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I made this, and it’s exactly what I always wanted.

Bonus joy: cooking with Eric, good TV, listening to podcasts, aqua aerobics, the hydromassage chair, sitting in the sauna, finally getting in to see a PT about my hips and back (turns out my core really never recovered after two abdominal surgeries in one year), an “emergency” massage at the gym since my person was booked up all of September, fry sauce, comedy and comedians, libraries and librarians, that sweet pittie named Oakley who was saved from a house fire after running past the open front door through the smoke and scream of the fire detector into the kitchen to show the police officer where his leash was so he could put it on before they left the house, listening to Wendy talk about butterflies, seeing Michelle’s dog and kitty on Zoom, texting with Chloe’ and Chris, sharing reels and memes with Shellie and Kari and Carrie, other people’s kids and pets and gardens, gold in the trees, the rabbitbrush so yellow it looks like it’s glowing in the dark, the moon, stickers, online ordering and scheduling, streaming content, those willing to speak sass to power, those who speak up even as they put themselves at risk, those who call a lie what it is, poets and poetry, clean sheets, muffins, gummies, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.