• There’s this breakfast sandwich on the menu at a local coffee & donuts shop. Nice treat when I’m out that way. Eggs & cheese on an everything bagle.
• I was driving through the streets of town this morning and I noticed that the leaves on the trees along the streets are coming out. The cherry blossoms are in full swing. There are magnolias and daffodills, and purple deadnettles have completely taken over my mom’s garden out back. Things are living and breathing again. It feels good.
• There is a super massive black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy. It’s responsible for holding everything together. Just one of the reasons we all of us are here. I just learned about it today. This is something that I didn’t know existed, but it literally holds the shape of the galaxy together. Wild.
• I reached out to an old friend that I hadn’t spoken with in a long time and said, hello, would you like to get together and catch up this summer? And they were genuinely excited about that prospect. It made me smile.
• Another human who I’ve seen go through tough moments is doing just beautifully well, right now. This does my heart good to see, and I’m so proud.
• My dad got me a book, as a present. It’s been on my TBR list for a long time. I’m not sure how he knew this. But now I have a copy, waiting to be read.
• I’ve made some progress on the papers that I need to write for school. What I have so far is a long way from perfect, but it’s a solid beginning. A place to start. And I have a little time.
• I got my first shot of the vaccine. My arm hurt a little but other than that it was fine. More and more people around me keep doing this. It gives me hope for a time when we can all be together again.
• My sister keeps getting tattoos and piercings and she’s curling her hair now and altogether settling into herself. It’s fun to watch, and I am proud.
• I came out of my shell in a big way, in a philosophical discussion at school this week. I said what I thought, in front of a lot of people, and I said it loud and clear. Since then, four different people have independently sent me emails that go something like “hello, here is an article that you might enjoy. Nice to hear your voice at that meeting. You made some good points, you did a good job, it was a better conversation because you were in it.” And that means a lot to me.

Some other things:

• A friend’s roommate passed away. I can’t offer more details here, because I’m not sure that I should share them. But it’s a sad thing. Please send good thoughts in the direction of a friend and her partner as they process what’s happening together.
• My dad is struggling with health things. Again, I don’t want to throw details into the wind at the moment. But he’s home right now and he’s resting. He keeps recieving get-well cards in the mail from people he hasn’t spoken with in forever and it’s giving him reasons to smile. He’s very strong.
• My dog’s arthritis is acting up. She’s getting old, and her knees weren’t ever built to carry her weight, and she’s getting tired. I don’t want to think about how empty this house would feel if she weren’t here, but for the first time I’m noticing the grey hair around her muzzle and the bumps on her skin. And it feels like an ache, you know?
• Even though I often stop and focus very hard on the sweet things, I still spend a lot of time feeling mentally sick and tired and unhappy. I’m looking for ways to tend to myself when I’m struggling, and I have a handful of skills to lean on when I need them. But it’s one of the hardest things in the world to cope with, especially when I’m under a lot of stress.

It’s all feeling heavy right now. If I’m writing a little less, then that could be the reason.

So I’m here, just tending to the places that hurt, noticing the explosion of taste in the everything bagles and the blossoms on the trees and the strength of the friendships.

I hope it’s an excellent week.