1. Morning walks. We are now in the season where we can do more of these together, all three of us, and soon, we’ll be doing them for a bit on the beach. We are also in the season of baby animals and the river flowing full and fast.

2. Ringo got a bath. It takes some work for the humans (his bedding, the blankets that cover all the furniture he’s allowed to use — which is basically all of it, and all the towels mean a full day of laundry) and he doesn’t love it, but he’s all fluffy and clean now, and I can’t help but think that must feel better. Especially now that he’s older, I also appreciate the after bath zoomies and roll in the grass, the extra surge of energy he gets after he’s done — followed by an epic nap.

3. Practice. Meditation with Sarah Blondin, Friday morning practice with my writing sangha, and yoga with Red Sage that included a fluffy puppy.

4. Working in the garden. As I mentioned, there is something so satisfying about it, as whatever progress I make seems so obvious, so clear. I filled our entire 65 gallon yard trimmings bin in just a few hours, and the majority was either Bindweed or Creeping Bellflower, also known as Devil Weed, (for good reason). I picked some of my rhubarb and since I also had strawberries, I made compote.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric was still busy this week and at work some days, but it’s starting to feel like summer with him around a bit more, and I love it. I’m not ready for him to retire yet, but I like having him around more often.

Bonus joy: Mom and her best friend, visiting with Chloe’, getting in the pool and sauna, my own washer and dryer in my own house so I don’t have to hoard quarters and transport my dirty things to a second location and wait there while they cycle, a warm shower, a big glass of cold clean water, ice cream, all of our favorite places to eat and stay and walk on our road trip to Oregon still there (I checked), Eric’s dad’s new place perfectly located on our regular driving route so we should get there right in time to stop for lunch and rest a bit before the final two hours to the beach, down blankets and pillows, clean sheets, grapefruit Bubly, hot coffee sweetened with hot cocoa mix, a warm mug of green tea, eggs, Skyr with granola and strawberries, listening to podcasts, good TV and movies (and the awareness that sometimes “bad” can be “good”), listening to music, oranges, texting with Chris, naps, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

1. Morning walks. We are having some really nice spring weather, nowhere close to as much rain as we need but everything that blooms this time of year is lasting so long (we’ve still got lilacs!), and Eric finally saw some baby geese last week. Someone posted a video on Nextdoor of a bobcat hunting at Kestrel Fields where we regularly walk and where Ringo is always extra interested in all the smells. Eric saw a coyote there once so now I’m adding bobcats to the list.

2. Mom is settled in, and seems to be doing okay with the move. She’s got The Hallmark Channel and a big window looking out into the backyard.

3. Our new futon mattress. Now that we’ve had it for a bit, I know that it’s not just better than our old mattress but it’s just really good, just what we were looking for, and I’m going to miss it when we are in Oregon at the house at the coast because if they have the same beds as last time, they aren’t so great.

4. Being married for a long time (30+ years). It’s nice to have someone who remembers the things you do, has been with you for more than half your life. This week, I was thinking about the first apartment we lived in, the basement of a house here in Fort Collins, and about how if we’d known then that things were going to work out for us, I might have relaxed and enjoyed it more — that was the thing about me in my 20s, I just wanted to know what was going to happen, how it was going to turn out, and the not being sure drove me crazy. I told Eric it would be fun to go back knowing what we know now and spend a week in that other earlier life. He suggested we pretend that we are 80 year old versions of ourself who came back in time to visit this moment. I started jogging in place and doing squats, miming an 80 year old me happy to be back in my younger body, “look at this, look at what I can do, look at my teeth!” and Eric said, “awww, hi Ringo, we remember you.”

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric being on summer break and our trip to Oregon are coming up fast. In the meantime, I’m continuing to organize and clean up, putting up new dressers and shelves, incorporating things from Mom and Dad’s while also getting rid of stuff we don’t need anymore, and weeding the garden — we got so little moisture this winter and spring that we aren’t planting anything new, considering this a fallow maintenance year. As much as I’m looking forward to getting away with Ringo and Eric, I’m also looking forward to coming back and being home again — because I love it here with them.

Bonus joy: I don’t have to fix it, finally seeing Carrie (we had tea together at her house so I could also see Tony the Tiger, and both of us had gone to Mary’s Mountain Cookies to get snacks, so there were a lot of cookies), texting with Chloe’, yoga at Red Sage (Ringo came early to get a shockwave treatment before practice and got to stay, and did SO good, so much better than I expected), writing with my Friday morning sangha, sitting in the backyard with Eric and Ringo, naps, oatmeal chocolate chip, new garden tools, Insight Meditation app classes, down pillows and blankets, clean sheets, getting in the pool and sauna, seeing my gym dad Frank, writing in my notebook every morning, honeybees, ladybugs, zebra jumping spiders, peppermint tea, a big salad, disabling YouTube on my phone (short reels had replaced my social media scroll), rain, naps, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.