Yup, that’s Neil Gaiman and me.

1. Meeting Neil Gaiman. I stood in line for seven hours and it was totally worth it. He’s one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met, made eye contact and spoke to every person (and the rumor is it was 2000+), and stayed until 3 am signing books until there was no more line. He’s generous and kind and caring, as well as brilliant and funny. I got to tell him that even though I love everything he does, my favorite thing he’s ever written was the blog post he wrote when he lost his dog, The Power of Dog. Cabal (2003-2013). It was six months after Dexter was diagnosed with cancer and a few years after we’d lost Obi, and it was so comforting to have someone so smart so publicly confess to being brokenhearted over a dog.

2. Good friends. Some of them waited in line for Neil Gaiman too, and they made seven hours seem like it wasn’t even really that long.

3. Sam and Ringo. It makes me so happy that they get along so well. I’ve always felt like my dogs should be a pair because there are things about being a dog that I just don’t get, can’t give them. It’s a relief when the pairing works out so well.

4. Daily Dharma Gathering and Feast. The combination of the two is making me feel like I am simultaneously falling to pieces and superpowered — raw and tender and strong.

5. Yoga, both practice and teaching, as well as the opportunity to do more training.

Bonus joy: Watching Friends with Eric and laughing, grapefruit juice, naps, paid sick days, asiago bagels, blue sky, the chance to start over (again and again and again), International House Hunters, understanding how I’m wired and honoring that, watching Ringo and Sam play together, taking a shower, clean sheets, crying, finding another bean from Dexter’s Little D when I was sweeping.

Medicine Buddha at Om Ananda Yoga Studio

1. Yoga. Teaching it, practicing, learning more, cultivating a relationship with my body and the present moment, embodying practice.

2. Meditation. The Daily Dharma Gathering, connecting to my breath and the present moment, cultivating a friendship with myself, learning how my mind works, understanding what it means to relax.

Pancakes by Eric, Marionberry sauce by my aunt, dog hair on the plate by either Ringo or Sam, eaten by me.

3. Marionberries, and all the tasty things you can make out of them. They only grow in Oregon, were developed in the place where I grew up — Marion County. I can order jam online, but still haven’t figured out a way to get pie delivered.

Love note from Eric with an arrow so I don’t miss it.

4. Eric. Laughing with him, hugging in the kitchen next to the warm oven, reminiscing about how much work Ringo was a year ago, the love notes he leaves me on the counter, how he asks me “Are you okay, Packo?” (Yup, that’s our nickname for each other, long story).

You can really see in this picture how much bigger Sam is than Ringo.

5. Sweet Sam and Ringo Blue. I still miss my Obi and Dexter, wish I had them back, am not over losing them, but I sure do love the two I have now.

Bonus Joy: Warmer weather which was like a little taste of Spring, watching a live streamed reading from poet David Whyte, my CSU work going well, teaching a yoga class of 15 people, the new twist and balance series I created, finding out I can order the Marionberry Jam I like so much direct from the company that makes it, writing and lunch dates with good friends, honoring my limits by skipping or canceling some things, prioritizing what’s important, remembering how much I like Field Report’s music, watching Glee even though it’s not as good as it was in the beginning.