1. Signs of fall. Fall in Colorado is my favorite season. It cools down and there are fewer mosquitos but there are still tomatoes and some other things lingering in the garden. And now that I’m not working at a university, I can really feel the slowing down this season brings, the quiet.
2. Morning walks. Right now, we linger in the morning until it starts to get light before we leave, but soon enough I’ll need to get out my headlamp and just go.
3. Late summer produce. Peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, and corn.
4. Vaccines. I think of this every time I see the hospital, ICU, and ventilator numbers — most of which are made up of people who weren’t vaccinated. We still don’t know how this is all going to go, but this is a protection I’m so grateful for. I also saw that they are making headway on a vaccine for HIV because of what they’ve learned producing the one for COVID-19.
5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. I’m so lucky, so grateful.
Bonus joy: Dot’s Honey Mustard Pretzels, grocery pickup, gummy vitamins, sitting in the sauna with Eric, getting in the pool, good TV (watched The Cafe on BritBox, and it was so sweet, so sad it was only two seasons), podcasts, coffee with cocoa and marshmallows, pumpkins turning orange, my neighbor’s four dogs, rain, a big glass of cold clean water, clean sheets, writing and hanging out with Calyx, lunch with Carrie, Poudre Pet & Feed Supply, babies of all kinds, the way the top of Ringo’s head smells when he comes in after lounging in the sun, naps, a soft tshirt in one of my favorite colors, not having to wear a bra, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.
1. Just two beautiful, joyful boys in suits dancing to “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees. I will admit, I’ve watched this video at least thirty times, and have it saved so I can watch it again whenever I want because it makes me happy.
5. Without drawing, I’m not sure who I would be. “At the risk of sounding a teensy bit overdramatic: Without drawing, I’m not sure who I would be, where I would be, or how on earth I would cope with life and everything that comes with it. Here’s why I do it.”
7. The 40-Hour Work Week Is, in Fact, Life on The New York Times. “There is no magical way to earn a full-time salary without working full-time.” Roxane Gay offers advice in a column about the office, money, careers and work-life balance.
9. A Graceful End, “A community document providing resources for navigating elder care and end-of-life issues, compiled by Patti Digh and others in her community.” (Google Doc)
18. The Kids of Camp I Am, a Decade Later on The New York Times. “Fourteen years ago, the mother of a gender-nonconforming son organized a “summer camp” of sorts, where her child and others like him could wear frilly pastel nightgowns and tend to their My Little Ponies together. Three other families showed up that first summer, but the camp grew quickly. It was called Camp I Am. In 2008, the photographer Lindsay Morris took her son there and began taking pictures of some of his fellow campers. More than a decade later, she asked many of them to be photographed again as they enter adulthood.”
20. How to find meaning after loss. (video) “You may be familiar with the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. After decades of research and his own experience with tragic loss, grief expert David Kessler ventured beyond that classic framework and sought a sixth, crucial stage: meaning. He shares practical wisdom and strategies for anyone seeking to honor a loved one’s memory and move through life in light of personal loss.”
22. Saying I Do, And Saying Farewell. “Eleven days after marrying the love of my life, I stared at his lifeless body and said goodbye.”
23. 7 Accessible Ways To Build Resilience In The Storm. “We must build resilience to equip us for the storms of life. Every one of us will experience stress, loss, or hard life circumstances in varying degrees. This post offers 7 ways to build resilience in the storm.”
30. Floating Micro-Origami that Magically Unfolds in Water. (video) “Watch as these tiny folded structures slowly unfold while floating on the water. It’s all about surface tension and capillary action. The shadows are cool to watch as well.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 