1. Morning walks. It’s the season where every morning, even if we walk the exact same route, there’s something new. It’s so green and things are blooming and the birds are so loud. This morning, as someone passed us on the trail, after we exchanged “good mornings,” they said, “I love your dog.” I replied, “Thanks. I do too.” 🙂

Even though I have so many good pictures of Ringo, he sure makes it hard to get them. This morning, there was this spot on the trail with a gorgeous gray log resting next to a bunch of bright yellow wildflowers with the river behind and a row of cottonwoods with bright green new leaves behind that. It would have been such a good capture, if Ringo would have cooperated, but, as evidenced below, he didn’t. I mean, I don’t blame him — he’s a dog on a walk not a supermodel on a runway or a celebrity on the red carpet.

2. Reading. The Measure was so good — if you are in a book club, it would be a great option. There’s just so much to talk about in terms of mortality, choice, and how we live and think about our lives. I’m listening to the audio version of Hello Beautiful and am reading A Fatal Affair, a great “beach read” on my Kindle and I just checked Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir out from the library on my Kindle to read next. Teaching me a love of books and reading along with the ability to read is the best gift my mom gave me. Maybe I would have found them anyway at some point, but I’m so grateful to her.

3. A break from social media. Eric and I are planning to take a digital detox break while we are in Oregon. I’m in that liminal, in-between space right now where I’m still on it (too much) but also watching myself doing it and seeing how it really makes me feel, what it has to offer and what it takes from me. I suppose the good news is I stopped at Instagram, swore after that I wasn’t adopting any of the new ones — no Snapchat, no TikTok, etc. — and the way “Meta” has perverted the two apps I still use, I suspect they will give up before I do and I won’t have to choose.

4. Selfies. I have all kinds of deep, old, sticky thoughts about myself and what I look like (which is more about what I think I’m supposed to look like — thanks a lot 40+ years of bulimia!), so it can be hard to look at let alone post pictures of myself without reducing myself to the wrinkles, the dark circles, the double chin. I have to make an effort to remember how much I love her, how I want the best for her, how precious she is.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric ran a 25 mile race today, finished and felt pretty good. I’m so grateful that he has a thing he likes so much and he’s still healthy and strong enough to do it, even though I don’t get it — like at all! Ringo had three appointments this past week — with his PT who is also one of his favorite humans, his primary vet who adores him even though he doesn’t quite love her back, and his arthritis doctor who has been working with my dogs for the past 12 years and is amazing. I had some anxiety about all of it, because that’s just how I am about having a 10.5 year old dog when the other three didn’t last this long, but he did so good, is doing so good, and I’m so grateful that besides Eric and I he has people who love him like we do and take such good care of him.

Bonus joy: lilacs in bloom, sitting in the backyard with Ringo, getting in the pool and the sauna, baby cows, other people’s pets and babies and plants, photo magnets, listening to podcasts, clean sheets, a warm shower, a big glass of cold water, breakfast burritos, the garlic cheddar biscuits Eric makes, the young college kids who work at our grocery store — in particular the one who just got a new puppy and shared pictures, berries, meditating, yoga, texting with friends, hugs, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.  

1. Morning walks. Ringo and I are both taking it slow right now, but we are there as the world starts to turn green and bloom. I am also dreaming of walks on the beach. Speaking of dreams, yesterday I was having one in which I was petting Ringo and I woke up to find that I was “petting” my pillow! 🙂

2. Good books. I’m still working my way through everything Brianna Wiest has written. I’m also reading a novel that would make an excellent book club read, The Measure. It brings up so many questions about mortality and choice. As the description says, “As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?” There are at least six other books I’m in the midst of, as always — a bad habit I developed in graduate school.

3. Practice. I had a super anxious day on Friday, and it was another reminder of how much having a set of regular practices helps me to stay sane.

4. Having a reset, a retreat. I’m looking forward to our trip to Oregon, our time at the beach in particular. Now that Ringo is 10.5, I’ll be savoring that time with him, because we never know when “the last trip” will be, (we didn’t know with the other three dogs either). Eric and I are going to take a break from social media while gone, and I may not blog at all. Instead, I’ll be meditating in front of the glorious wall of windows looking out over the ocean, reading all the books, taking long walks on the beach, eating so much good food, napping, and enjoying the time with my two favorites. We rented the house we know has the best view because there will be a bit more rain than usual because we are going so early in the season and we won’t necessarily be outside as much. Fingers crossed the fog doesn’t block our view on those days.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. What “home” means to me.

Bonus joy: cooking, fresh eggs, making art with Janice, sending reels and memes to Shelly and Carrie and Kari, texting with Chloe’, Ringo getting to “play” with Teri, the lunch buffet at Mount Everest Café, breakfast for dinner, clean laundry, a warm shower, a clean cold glass of water, cheese, baby carrots, making Ringo’s food, all the cherry trees bursting at once, writing with Nicki, getting in the pool, sitting in the sauna, doing yoga again after so long, sleeping in, watching good TV and movies, listening to podcasts, being able to “check out” library books on my Kindle and keep them past their due date by turning on airplane mode, that Instagram reel I saw of the litter of puppies being sung a lullaby and how fast they settle down, finding out there’s another video of the same puppies with a different song, blue sky, one day of rain perfect for napping, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.