1. Morning walks. We went by the river and around the ponds this week, but because of the time change, it was too dark to take any pictures. I keep my headlamp on the whole time, and the sun is only just coming up as we are almost home. Sam is back up to being able to walk four miles in the morning and that makes me so happy.

2. Sam came to live with us 10 years ago this week. We had planned on going to Lifeline Puppy Rescue over the weekend to get a new dog, the same place we got Obi and Dexter, but I was home sick midweek and looking on Craigslist, where I saw a listing for Sam from the woman fostering him and his brother for another local rescue. I emailed Eric and we agreed I’d email the foster mom. As soon as she emailed back, I knew we’d found our new puppy, and Dexter agreed, so we brought him home. They guessed he was about 12 weeks old, but he was probably closer to 8 or 9 and looked like a baby bear.

3. Spring is coming. It seems appropriate that I took this picture of the first crocuses in the dark, using the light of my headlamp. Things are getting so weird, but the birds have returned and flowers are blooming. Life is like that — tender and terrible, beautiful and brutal. Wash your hands and keep your heart open.

4. Practice. More than ever, it’s helping to keep me strong, stable, and sane.

5. My tiny family. There’s no one I’d rather be “stuck at home” with, and I’m so thankful that dogs and seemingly children won’t be seriously impacted by COVID-19.

Bonus joy: a safe and comfortable home to hunker down in, the rational and reasonable approach Colorado is taking to this pandemic, the ability to stay home for long stretches of time, the resources that make staying home for long stretches of time workable, that if/when we do get sick there won’t be much I need to cancel, the internet, good books, good podcasts, good TV, limes, clementines, sweet potatoes, a big glass of cold clean water, getting all the laundry done before lunchtime, hanging out on Zoom with friends, all those working so hard to keep people safe and healthy.

1. Morning walks. On one this week the sky really lit up, and on another we walked through the snow by the river.

2. Good food. I’ve been avoiding campus or campus events and even most campus people cause it feels too soon, too tender, but this week I took myself to lunch at one of my old favorite work lunch spots right across the street from CSU.

3. Good content. I finished Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives and Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, both really helpful. I also finished watching Gentefied on Netflix, which was really good too, (although just dramatic enough I could only watch one episode a day).

4. Good friends. People I can trust, who make me laugh.

5. My tiny family. My favorites. Eric is such a good husband, offers me so much support and loves me so much, and I love that Ringo gets I’m also his person now that I’m home more often, and even though Sam triggered my anxiety last night waking up choke coughing, he eased it later when he got in bed and spooned with me.

Bonus joy: aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna, yoga, meditation, this mantra, taco bean salad, fresh lemonade, tulips, bird song in the morning, a good therapist, Girl Scout Thin Mints, canceled plans, reading in bed at night while Eric and the dogs sleep, TV shows that are easy to watch (like HGTV’s House Hunters), coupons, grocery shopping, my new pen, clean soft pajamas, cooking with Eric, sunshine.