1. Morning walks. I got to do all of them except for one this week, as Eric was gone for a conference. Because he and Ringo get up at 4 am, I adjusted my schedule, or rather adhered to theirs, and because we were up so much earlier and I was so tired, I was afraid if I sat down for a bit before we walked, I wouldn’t want to get back up again, so we walked early enough that we only saw the very beginnings of the sunrise and walked mostly in the dark. And yet, the sky was clear most of the week, so we got to see tons of stars.

2. Celebrating birthdays. This week, I turned 58 and Ringo turned 12. His birthday in particular made me super happy — I’ve never had a truly old dog, and every year he gets closer. He’s doing so well right now that I think it might take him a few more years to seem like he’s anything close to “old.” My last two birthdays have made me sad, with my dad and Eric’s mom being gone and my mom not here in the same way, with all the cards and calls that don’t come. And one thing I forgot about being off Facebook is all those birthday wishes wouldn’t come either. “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to…” And yet, it made me that much more grateful for the wishes that did come, and each one seemed so much sweeter.

3. Funny women. Last night, I got to see Jackie Kashin and Maria Bamford along with my funny friends Barb and Chloe’ and Laura and Jen. We laughed so hard, our faces hurt. I’ve seen both of them perform a couple of times before and they never disappoint. Making people laugh is a type of magic and laughing together is medicine.

4. Ringo. I was worried that without Eric here to “beat him down” (it’s all in good fun and Ringo loves it, I swear) and his afternoon walks, he’d be restless, but he was so good for me, so sweet, and it was kind of nice to have him all to myself, although I missed Eric like crazy and would always rather have him here too.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I’m so glad Eric is back home now and we are going to all be together in the same place for a week of rest and relaxation over Thanksgiving break. I’m so grateful for my life!

Bonus joy: birthday cake, Hendrix’s school picture, a hot cup of coffee and warm mug of tea, taking care of myself, canceling things I don’t have the capacity for, how when you are reading multiple books they start being in conversation with each other in ways you couldn’t have predicted, flower seeds from Chloe’, the way people swap and share plants like how I have four different kinds of irises and they were all gifts from someone else’s garden, stickers, picking out a sticker to go on a new blank notebook and how sometime when I’m looking for a particular notebook from a specific time I recognize it because of the sticker on the front, down blankets and pillows, leftovers, grocery shopping, $.70 off per gallon of gas because of grocery rewards points that pile up because my car is a hybrid (and Eric’s an electric) and I don’t drive that many miles because I would almost always rather stay home and when I do go somewhere it’s usually only a few miles away, having so many trails close by I can walk Ringo every day and each walk is in a different location, how we always have the radio on playing music or episodes of Dateline or old radio shows from the “Golden Age of Radio” in the 30s and 40s, other people’s dogs and kids, Reddit (where I’m spending way too much time now that I’m not on Facebook or Instagram), The Lincoln Center, Zoom, grapefruit Bubly, naps, libraries and librarians, poetry and poets, first responders, texting with my brother, good TV (which is sometime bad TV too), streaming content, listening to podcasts, mood lighting, twinkle lights, all the Christmas lights going up, that one house that decorates their yard for Christmas with nothing but dog decorations, watercolor, glue stick, talking to Mom on the phone for a few minutes on my birthday, the voice note Jessamy sent of the kids saying “Happy Birthday, Auntie Jill,” what Chris wrote on the card he sent me, his tender heart, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep (which I get to do tonight after four nights without the Eric half).

1. Morning walks. This is probably my favorite season for morning walks, as it’s cooler but not super cold, we leave in the dark but get to see the full sunrise, and the sunrise because of the cold and moisture in the clouds can be a particular kind of magic.

One morning this week, we got to the trail head and heard a noise I couldn’t place. I looked around but didn’t see anything at first. Then, my headlamp reflected in the green of some animal’s eyes. We see a lot of deer there but these eyes were too close to the ground and it’s head moved different. I was starting to think it might be a bobcat when I put on my glasses so I could see more clearly and realized it was a deer, with a large heavy rack of antlers and head hovered low to the ground eating apples which he’d earlier knocked off the tree using the same antlers, explaining the strange noise we’d heard.

2. My brother and his tiny family. He has become the “head of the family” hard and fast, and does such a good job of it. And as Papa 2.0, he’s a much gentler, kinder, easier going version than we had growing up. Three sweet things about him this week: I found out that the apples Mom is always eating when he sends a picture are because he brings her one special when he goes to visit her. Also, even though he’s the one who typically does most of the shopping and all the shipping for my birthday and Christmas presents, he always makes sure to have his WHOLE family, both girls and both grandkids, sign my card. And finally, another sweet story about where some of Mom and Dad’s furniture that we don’t want is ending up — this time it’s a small loveseat that is going to a woman that is building a “tiny house” for her dogs!!! He knew I’d like that one. Even though the last two years have been especially hard for us, we are closer than ever, and I am grateful for that.

3. Seeing the Northern Lights from our front porch. Even more fun was sharing the pictures with everyone who wasn’t there to see them and seeing all the pictures other local people took.

4. Practice. Yoga at Red Sage plus one puppy, Friday morning writing sangha, writing and reading in the morning, and meditating in the quiet of my practice room.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I’m really looking forward to when Eric doesn’t have to work so hard, and to celebrating Ringo’s 12th birthday next week — the oldest dog I’ve ever had by a whole year and a half!

Bonus joy: seeing our friend Mary Ellen on our walk, visiting our friend Theresa at her fitness studio every week on our walk, all my dogs — here and gone, texting with Chris and Chloe’ and Shellie and Kari, sharing books with people, book club, getting the laundry done, grocery shopping, hanging out with Ringo all day, good TV, new music, listening to podcasts, slippers, breakfast burritos, other people’s dogs and kids, stickers, citrus, fry sauce, plantain chips, grapefruit Bubly, down blankets and pillows and coats, wool socks, gummies, making each other laugh, owls, finally a chance of snow in the forecast, remembering good people, Sesame Street, a warm shower, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.