1. Morning walks. The other day, we walked by the CSU Flower Trial Gardens, (stuff like this is why I LOVE living in a college town), which is within walking distance of the first apartment Eric and I lived in together, the basement of a cute little house in Old Town Fort Collins. We only paid $325 a month, which some of the time we split with a roommate. In the current market, just one bedroom in a shared space costs at least $600-1000!

As we were on our way to our old house, I asked Eric if he remembered the time his friend Dan borrowed our charcoal grill for a BBQ he was hosting, and how since he didn’t have a car and only lived a few blocks away, he walked home while dragging it behind him like he was walking a dog. Someone saw him and called the police, who he had to bring back to our house to confirm that he wasn’t stealing our grill. Then I pointed out a house on the corner just a block away and reminded him about the time they had a yard sale and we bought their dining room table set, and because it was so close to our house, we just carried it back, made two trips to get the full set back home.

Eric said the last time he’d walked by the house, it looked smaller, and he was right. They’d moved the fence closer to the house in back so that there’s room to park a car in the alley and they added a weird rickety narrow roof deck on to the same garage that we never used 30 years ago because it seemed like it could collapse at any moment. We didn’t have much when we lived there, when we first started out, but there was lots of love and a whole bunch of good times that made good memories.

2. Ringo. He got up from a nap yesterday and was limping. He has arthritis and one of the spots where it flairs up is in his elbows. We gave him some pain meds and did some cold lazer on his elbow that was sore. He woke up this morning already feeling better but he’ll be on restriction and meds for at least a few more days, if not a week or two. I feel so sad and anxious when he doesn’t feel good but I’m so grateful to have the resources I need to help him and that he’s such a good sport about it all.

3. Practice. I am getting ready to fly out to Oregon and spend a week visiting family. I haven’t flown since COVID and my people keep getting older every time I go, so practice is helping me cultivate the wisdom and compassion, the ease and calm I want to bring with me. I also am going to the beach for a few days which is always so good for me. I’m sad Eric and Ringo will be here without me, but so happy to come back to them after my visit. 

4. Eric. He made a strawberry pie for us this week. And on the morning of the day I was teaching yoga this week, he came to tell me he was going to the gym and I asked if he could help me load my yoga stuff into my car before he left, and he said, “I already did.” This October will be our 30th wedding anniversary and I would absolutely marry him again.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. There absolutely is no place I’d rather be, no one I’d rather be here with.

Bonus joy: Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches, writing with my Wildish Writing group on Friday mornings, Hendrix is WALKING!!! <3, afternoon rain storms, cucumbers and zucchini and tomatoes and flowers from our garden, finding the charger for Ringo’s cold lazer after looking for a really long time and almost ordering a new one, listening to podcasts, leftovers, sunshine, good neighbors, other people’s dogs and kids, crossing things off my to-do list, watermelon gummies, grapefruit drink mix, Asian cucumber salad with cucumbers from our garden, green grapes, spinach & artichoke hearts and greek yogurt dip with salty chips, lemonade, those yummy sandwiches from The Pickle Barrel, pay day, getting all the laundry done, zucchini bread and muffins with toasted walnuts, the yellow flowers and bees on our golden rain trees, cone flowers and daisies, hummingbirds, trees, watching TV with Eric at night, making each other laugh, making each other less anxious, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Morning walks. I went along the river for part of our walk one day this week, and there were WAY too many mosquitoes. Just like everywhere, we’ve had the weirdest weather this summer. At this point in late July, there shouldn’t be that much water in the river, and things shouldn’t be as lush or as green. The above picture is one I took just after we watched a deer disappear into the brush on the other side of the river and just before we turned the corner and startled two more.

2. Curly hair cut. In the past four years, I’ve had a total of two haircuts, and really it would be more accurate to call them a “trim” because there was no real style there and I prefer to do as little maintenance as possible, wash and wear. As happens, my hair has been changing as my hormones and body do, and it had gotten more flat and fuzzy the way I was wearing it so I decided I wanted to get a haircut and learn a routine that would highlight my curls and lead to healthier hair. I can’t believe how much hair I let her cut off and am amazed I let her do layers but I’m more than happy with the results. Still don’t know if I’ll be able to make it look quite as nice as she did all the time but it feels so much better.

3. Little book and art libraries. Books and art, creativity and play and sharing, are so important and while it seems like the political world would prefer to burn it all to the ground, I’m happy that individual homes and humans in my neighborhoods are committed to keeping those precious things available and accessible.

4. Practice. If I could, I’d spend most of my days meditating, doing yoga, reading, and writing — but then who would do the laundry, go to the grocery store, pay the bills? Adulting is hard, being human is hard, and I’m not sure how I’d stay strong and sane without practice to support me.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I’m so grateful that currently everyone is healthy and happy.

Bonus joy: texting with Chloe’, texting in general (as an introvert, it may just be my preferred mode of communication), Ringo rolling in the grass, zucchini and tomatoes and basil from our garden, HRT, prescription glasses, birds at the feeder, sunflowers, the way green grass feels under my feet, naps, listening to podcasts, watching TV and movies, Aunt Monica’s taco salad, knowing that the choice to not do the thing was the right decision, my in-laws, other people’s kids and dogs, a plane ticket to Oregon to visit family and see the ocean, having the laundry done by 10 am, a/c that allows for baking and laundry even in the summertime, electric cars, bread, lemonade, clean water, clean air, other people’s gardens, good neighbors, poetry and poets, calendars, tape, glue stick, thrift stores, the produce section at the grocery store, not needing to be right, gummies, electric fans, soft clothes, a couch that is more than comfortable enough to spend the night on, the sound of Ringo coming down the hallway, his sighs and dream barks, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.