1. Peonies in my garden. It’s strange this year because the dark pink ones usually bloom first, but this year it’s the white and the pale pink with the butter yellow centers. 

2. Morning walks. We are having a cooler, wet spring, which means we have to stay on the pavement and skip the dirt trails around the ponds and by the river, so I didn’t take many pictures this week.

3. Mom. We send each other selfies, (Chris helps her). I’m so glad she hasn’t forgotten me yet.

4. #1000wordsofsummer. Jamie said on the first day that there are something like 70,000 people who signed up, so I don’t spend any time on the message boards, but it’s nice to have the container of the 14 days, the 1000 words a day, and the daily letters of encouragement from various authors that Jamie sends. It’s really helping me to work on “The Book.” Here’s hoping I can maintain the momentum once these 14 days are done.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I told Eric when I got in bed last night that even though I don’t ever take it for granted, sometimes I get overwhelmed by how grateful I am to have him, to be able to live my life with my best friend, my favorite person.

Bonus joy: a fish sandwich for lunch, cooking with Eric, leftovers, reading in the morning with a mug of hot green tea, books and those who write them, poetry and poets, libraries and librarians, Dr. Foster, yoga at Red Sage, how green everything is right now, clean sheets, a warm shower, house plants, comedy, true crime, music and musicians, my nutritionist, my acupuncturist, my masseuse, my Pilates teacher, going to bed early, fireflies (even though I’ve never actually seen one), birds at my feeder, my Merlin app, taco salad, a big glass of cold clean water, health insurance, our whole house fan, being able to leave the windows open, how soft and green the grass is in the backyard, having all the laundry put away, prescription glasses, down blankets and pillows, listening to or watching podcasts, other people’s dogs and kids and gardens, being able to start over as many times as necessary, grocery shopping, how much quieter it is living in a college town during summer break, the spicy sesame bowl at Liminal, rice, roasted veggies, citrus, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.  

1. Morning walks. I am so lucky to have so many beautiful places to walk and Ringo to walk with. We are having a stormy spring which means everything is super green and there are lots of wildflowers. This week we saw a bunch of deer, lots of rabbits, a few heron, a kind of duck I’d never seen before and her babies, and so many birds. A mystery we have yet to solve is a lone deer both Eric and I saw at different times this week that has a big tracking color around her neck and a red tag in her ear.

2. Practice. Keeping me sane, bringing me joy.

3. Mom. She’s trying to wander even though she can no longer walk (but she forgets that and she was never very good at sitting still), and she managed to end up on the floor of her room this week (thank goodness she didn’t hurt herself), so they now have an alarm that will alert them if she tries to get up when she’s by herself in her room. My brother and niece went to visit her the next day and she was hanging out in the main living room. It might be the biggest benefit for her about being at Tokarski House because she’s always been a very social person and being there, she gets lots of visitors and loves all her nurses.

4. Ringo. Repeat bloodwork we were waiting anxiously for came back okay. 

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Even though he’s not entirely on summer break, is finishing up a few last things at work, it’s been so good to have Eric home more often. After 11 years, Ringo is finally learning to be the dog of a writer, and is content to hang out in my office with me when I’m working. I really didn’t think that would ever happen.

Bonus joy: visiting with Chloe’, birds at my window feeder, pizza, pay day, therapy, grocery shopping, comedy and comedians, poetry and poets, music and musicians, libraries and librarians, starting a new book club, how pretty the honey locusts are this year, how many buds my peonies have, all the Rocky Mountain bee plants at the North Shields Ponds, yoga at Red Sage, other people’s dogs and kids and gardens, clean sheets, #1000wordsofsummer, rain storms, how green and soft the grass is, listening to podcasts, watching TV, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.