1. Morning walks. I’m enjoying the last few Eric gets to take with us before he heads back to work in earnest and we go back to alternating days, just one of us and the boy. This morning we walked at the CSU Trial Gardens, to get one more walk in on campus before all the students come back. The trial gardens are in full bloom and there were a few spots, beds of plants and trails and fountains and vine covered iron arches, that got added after I left CSU and during COVID that I hadn’t seen yet. The dahlias and sunflowers in particular were gorgeous. 

2. Working on “The Book.” Yes, I am still working on writing this book. Recently I realized I was actually writing two different books and have had to spend some time shuffling things around to their respective containers, and yet that also made the structure and focus of the one I want to finish first so much clearer, a whole lot less confusing and unwieldy. *Spoiler Alert*: the one I want to finish first could be summed up as simply: “Being human is hard; don’t give up.” I am also having fun reading all the books I have collected over the years on writing memoir.

3. Tomatoes from a friend’s garden. We didn’t end up putting in a garden this year, even though typically we have a massive one. We were gone for the true start of the season, thought we’d wait until we got back to plant, but it was so hot while we were gone, with the promise of that being the norm for the rest of the summer, and we have so many grasshoppers and no real way to get rid of them without something toxic, so we decided to skip a year. So when a work friend brought Eric a bag of cherry tomatoes from their garden, we inhaled them! So good…

4. School is about to start and I don’t have to go. I am still so grateful to have been able to leave my job at CSU, to not ever have to grade another paper or be given too much work to be completed in too little time and with too few resources, to not have to be diplomatic or deal with the big egos that tend to collect in the tenure track at universities. I’m happy to stay home with my dog, not wear a bra or pack a lunch or pay $600+ to park a mile from my office or answer to anyone about what I’m working on.

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. I am content, so lucky and so grateful.

Bonus joy: Watermelon, peaches, grapes, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, good books, listening to podcasts, watching TV with Eric at night, training with Shelby (who got engaged AND had a birthday this week), sharing more food with Chloe’ and Ralf, seeing Carrie’s addition almost finished, Ringo getting to meet Rex his new next door neighbor (the initial sniffing was fine, but then Ringo had to tell him “don’t mess with me” — Rex is a Goldendoodle easily twice Ringo’s size — so the meet and greet was cut short), the hydromassage chair, the pool, the sauna, going out to lunch with Eric, the full sized pig that apparently lives as a pet with a family down the street and around the corner that got out the other day and wandered down the block (when we drove by and the person was taking it back home, Eric rolled down the window and yelled, “I like your dog!”), yoga nidra, scheduling appointments online instead of having to call, vaccines and masks, my Friday morning Wild Writing sangha that starts back up soon, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

1. Morning walks. We had lots of company this week: a single deer, two mama deer with two babies each (twins!), an owl, a bald eagle, and two very friendly pigs. Getting up so early in the morning we can really see the turn towards fall, have had to dig out our headlamps. The good news is that means we never miss a sunrise.

2. Good friends. I am especially grateful for them as a highly sensitive introvert who prefers being at home alone. With my friends, I’m seen, heard, accepted, loved, and cheered up — so so so lucky. 

3. Good food. Eric made another peach gallate, and I made pasta slaw, broccoli slaw, potato salad, taco beans, bran muffins with dried raspberries, and chocolate zucchini bread. The best thing is that we have close friends nearby who we can share with, so I can make a lot of various things without having to worry about how we are going to eat all this food.

4. Reading. It really is my first love.

5. My tiny family, tiny life, tiny home. I was sitting in the backyard this morning thinking for the thousandth time how much I love where we live, that we are here together. 

Bonus joy: cooking and baking, chopping and mixing, clean laundry, clean sheets on the bed, a warm shower, how soft the fur on Ringo’s shoulders is, bird song, bees, peaches, grapes, soft bread, pickles, sitting on the back step with Eric just after the sunset watching the bats fly around our yard, that even though our preferences can be so different there are certain shows Eric and I both like and enjoy watching together (right now it’s Homicide Hunter), clearing up a pile of clutter, naps, that corner of the couch, afternoon rainstorms on a hot day, hanging out with Chloe’ and Hendrix and Carrie and Calyx, texting with my mom and brother, listening to podcasts, the hydromassage chair and pool and sauna at the gym (in that order), vaccines and masks, refrigeration and a/c, our neighbor’s four dogs with their reflective collars, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.