I struggled yesterday and continue to struggle today. I do not understand the magnitude of the anger shown yesterday and I do not understand how people I know can condemn this violence.

And yet- I search for Delight.

You know what is really amazing?

I never, ever have to search far. I posted yesterday that my search for delights was difficult.

Here is how you responded…..I kind of love you all…..quite a lot.

So many notes of love and resilience! Thank you dear delighted Tribe. We’re gonna be okay. Keep these stories coming! May we reveal in every day joy.

My head and heart are tired today. Thank you to my friend Karen for sharing this delight.

Karen got a kiss for holding a door.

Thank you Karen- I needed this today 🙂

We need to start seeing each other- seeing each other, respecting each other and perhaps giving them a kiss…..for simple, lovely acts.

Day Three is brought to you by my good friend Corey. Corey is not only a friend but she is my editor and writing coach. She brings me delight.

She brings me delight not only because she is lovely and a big fan of the F word but she has patience and grace in working with me as writer. And she suggests amazing books.

Here is Corey, her delights and a reminder to pay attention to your tiny delights.

Thinking of delights that truly bring me joy there are, of course, the capital moments: your birth of a child, your finishing a half marathon, your marriage to a pretty nifty fellow, your declarative JOYs that insist upon notice. But I think there are more than just those scrapbook moments.

What about those everyday delights? There are a bunch if you start to sink into the sensual seconds of every day. Pressing your forehead against your floofy dog’s head; ticking off a particularly odious to-do item—paying the damn insurance bill, for instance; watching a kid (even one you’re not related to) notice something for the first time—babies and bubbles, pre-schoolers and puddles, teenagers and new Fender amps… the best. So much joy to be gathered like morels in the woods, if only we can pay attention. How much joy do I allow to float by each day? So much.

I resolve to gather more rosebuds. Will you?

Our day two Delight post comes from my friend Elisa! She is kind enough to share thoughts around two events; the holidays and her birthday (today is her birthday! Hooray to another year!) I am honored to post her words 🙂 And Elisa, loved the memories of your Mom 🙂

On a Birthday: If there is anything that I have learned and actually wanted to learn and have managed to hold onto throughout the craziness craptasticness of the last year, it’s that the little things really to matter the most. That moment when you notice the sun shining through the clouds. Having precious moments with the people you love the most. Even a desperate ache for when you can’t see the people you love the most. We have to find happy closer to “home” – aka our heart and soul (and sometimes mirror) – and while that can be hard and difficult, it makes the little things all the more important and special

On the Holidays: It may only be the fourth day of the year, however something that is bringing me great peace right now is the plethora of holiday and Christmas decorations that are twinkling brightly in my house right now. Thanks to 2020 having zero rules around doing what you want (within reason of course) my decorations quickly made the turn from fall to holiday and Christmas earlier than ever before and I refused to apologize or justify back then. And now, they continue to sparkle and shine brightly.

You see, growing up it was a huge tradition in my mom’s house to make an ordeal (in a good way) about putting the decorations up the day after Thanksgiving and it was unheard of for any of them to be taken down until the 12 Days of Christmas were over on January 5. Perhaps another reason I love the decorations is my birthday lands in the middle of all of this so you better believe they stay up for that wonderful day! I have kept this tradition because it makes me happy and it brings back memories of my mom  – she always went ALL OUT for Christmas – and this year, it just seemed even more important for me. The trees are up with lights on all day, stockings are hung with care, candles are lit, and everything is just…peaceful and happy.

In my mind, it is hard to NOT find delight in being outside. Outside is awesome. Outside is slightly out of our control; sometimes too hot, too cold, too windy, snowy, rainy…..outside is an unpredictable beast. And that’s what makes it so awesome.

Not only was I outside today but it was with good friends. The pandemic has left us all in need of connection. I am comfortable with that connection. I YEARN for that connection…..outside.

We did a hike so I got a workout.

Alas, today is the trifecta of delights! My heart rate was elevated, I gazed across a wooded summit and I laughed with great company.

I discovered a new term today; Forest Bathing. The concept stems from Japanese Shinrin-Yoku Forest Therapy. While the soak isn’t literal, it means to immerse yourself in the natural environment. Bathe in the blue sky above you, listen to the wind in the trees, feel the crunch of the snow beneath your feet. Forget the creature comforts of home, lose the phone and be present in your environment.

Speaking of literal soaks, outside demands consciousness. This was me today at the base of a frozen waterfall right before I slipped and slid towards a tree that was frozen in the river.

I had two friends come to help after my slide. Because that’s what you do when you’re outside- you look out for one another and help, even when the party needing assistance did something a tad careless. There was no ‘Like’ or ‘Unlike’ no #dumbwaterfall lady or bitmoji of a palm slapping a forehead….just help.

Thank you friends

Tonight my heart is full, my belly is hungry and I am filled with delight.

There is no wifi in the forest……but perhaps you can find a better connection.

See what I did there? I know. Hysterical.

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely holiday filled with good health and good company.

I struggle with what to write about as we all take another journey around the sun. As a human on this planet during this time, I have been witness to a lot of suffering this year. And as a human on this planet during this time, bearing witness to this suffering makes me sad, living in a divided country makes me sad, seeing the people I love lose loves makes me sad.

But I cannot call this the worst year ever. That is not fair to those who really have had the worst year ever and it is not fair to my worst years. Having lived a series of unfortunate events, I think it’s important to recognize when you are fortunate, move a step over and give grace to those who really need some grace.

And on January 1, 2021 at 12:01, the world did not change. The issues we faced at 11:59 are still around, stinking up the place and making us ask “well it’s a New Year, now what?”

Now What?

We still have a road ahead of us my friends. Our reserves are empty, our capacity for compassion and empathy maybe running low and my mask has taken on a nasty stench. Yes, I know I can hand wash it….but I am amazing at how foul my breath can be.

We still have to dig deep.

I started this pandemic by writing down my gratitudes and dreams. This lasted until the Fall. I am behind on my gratitudes. Yes I am grateful. But during the election and as COVID numbers continued to rise, my gratitudes felt inauthentic.

Today I was listening to This American Life on NPR. They were interviewing Ross Gay; poet, professor and author of a collection of essays called “The Book of Delights”. For one year, Ross wrote daily essays about things that delighted him. He told an amazing story about flying with a baby tomato plant and the joy it brought him. Listening to his baby tomato plant story brought me a little joy.

365 days of delight. One thing. Everyday. That delights you.

I have struggled with the purpose of my blog. I talk a lot about grief, resilency, politics. Lets talk about Delights.

Can I do 365 days of Delights? It’s a lot of writing so I might rely on you, my fellow writers and articulate people. Can we fill this blog with 365 days of tiny events that delight us?

I cant think of a better challenge.

We start tomorrow 🙂

I haven’t posted for 6 weeks.

That’s not to say I don’t have anything to say. I ALWAYS have something to say. These six weeks have been a bit introspective….we are still deeply divided, in the darkest days of Winter, the pandemic, and trying desperately trying to find our way.

We take the quarantine very seriously out here on the 20. My whole family is high risk and I love them quite a lot. I would like to smooch on them endlessly once this little virus decides to move on. So we stay at home. And we stay. And we stay.

Despite being a self-diagnosed extrovert, I am skilled (seriously) at keeping myself entertained. I find myself pretty charming and a pretty good companion. Myself and I have taken on numerous unfinished projects; a paint by number canvas from hell, sewing, harassing the Hubs, learning how to play the guitar and baking……so many baked goods.

For the holiday season, I decided to take to attack the very fine art of candy making.

This may seem like a small endeavor but I have a whole new appreciation for Willy’s Wonkiness. Making candy involves taking ingredients that live quite happily in a separate solid state….butter, sugar, milk; melting them into a liquid state so that they live together in melty gooeyness and then…wait for it……continuing to heat them up so that the elements in your kitchen become a molten sugar mixture from hell.

“Combine sugar and butter, keeping stirring for an hour until the mixture reaches a temperature of 280 degrees.” Not 281 degrees. 280

You know water boils at 212 degrees. Candy requires you take that 212 degrees and add another three million and twelve degrees. This combination is so stinkin’ hot that as soon as it hits a cool surface, it solidifies immediately. Hands, fingers, ears? No matter.

The irony is that this gooey, murderous, painful lava, poured out onto a cookie sheet hardens into a tasty toffee or beautiful caramel. I packaged tasty Turtles for friends and family.

“Oh these are good.” They would say.

Good? Do you know the depths of sugar molten hell I descended into? Do you know I no longer have fingerprints? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU???

Good my hiney.

Christmas is over and the turtles have found new homes. The candy thermometer and recipe book have been put away for another year. My glass stovetop still smells of burnt sugar.

Is this an analogy to 2020? Can I make some comparison to molten sugar and COVID? Nah, its a stretch. But in looking for a correlation, I did find the lyrics to Willy Wonka’s Pure Imagination……Onto 2021! Keep dreaming my friends. Love the turtles.

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There’s nothing to it

There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there you’ll be free
If you truly wish to be

Thank you to so many for your service.

I know these times are confusing but I think this is one thing we can all agree on;

Thank you to our Vets.

I have today off. I have never had Veterans Day off. Colorado is having a crazy COVID surge so my options for today were limited but I did do my favorite thing….I swam.

The pool manager LOVES 80’s music so today I swam to a Tears for Fears/Queen Combo….that’s right….We are the Champions…. and Everybody wants to Rule the World….fitting.

I was a kid of the 80’s.

I grew up with parents talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis; going to bed and not knowing what the world would be like when they woke up. Nuclear bomb drills where everyone hid under their desk….all in the tiny town of Plano, Illinois.

In the 80’s I sat glued to the TV as the nuclear arms race between the US and the USSR intensified; potential destruction my twelve year old mind could not comprehend.

Nuclear bombs are scary.

The made-for-TV movie The Day After came out in 1983. You wanna scare the crap out of a 12 year old? As if puberty is not terrifying enough, plop them in front of the TV to watch the Love Boat and what the heck….a nuclear holocaust. My preteens were spent thinking that surely we were out to destroy ourselves. I would spend my teen years in an underground bunker eating spam, watching my hair fall out….just me and my family…..a preteen nightmare.

I have always been a bit of an activist. At 12 I sat at the kitchen table with my best friend writing letters to President Regan about how I would really like to see my 13th birthday (I also had a flair for the dramatic).

I remember asking friend’s mom, “Why do the Russians hate us so much?”

“Oh Honey,” she said, “they don’t hate us. They don’t want this to get any worse than we do. “

In 1985, Sting released, I Hope the Russians Love Their Children Too, a somber, chilling song that really came down to this premise….. If destroying you means destroying me….well I love my family more than I hate you. So where do we go from here?

Mister Krushchev said, “We will bury you”
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
It’d be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too

We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
But what might save us, me and you
Is if the Russians love their children too

The Wall came down November 10, 1989. I sat in my grandparents living room and cried.

In 1993, I moved to Germany for a couple years and became friends with many people from the Eastern Block. They didn’t hate me nor did they want to blow me up with a nuclear warhead. They were also really good skiers and fun to drink beer with….so there is that. And they do indeed love their children.

Today Americans fight Americans.

And although we do not point warheads, talks of succession are damaging. They point to a fact that we cannot nor will not meet each other at a commonplace.

Would we speak so highly of each other to our children the way my best friends’ mom spoke of our ‘enemy’ during a Cold War? When nuclear bombs were poised towards each other?

Would we tell our children the other side does not hate us? And that the other side doesn’t want this to get any worse than we do? Would we speak about our country people with different ideology as graciously as my best friends’ mom spoke of people she did not know?

There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope Republicans love their children too

There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Democrats love their children too

Today is Veterans’ Day.

So many have fought for peace. Not only did they fight, but at the end they met the enemy at a commonplace. It would have been easy for Regan or Gorbachev to tell the other to stick it. I’m glad they didn’t. I really don’t like Spam.

For those who have been following the small business Halloween posts from my writer’s group, here is the last one written by yours truly- a salon for witches.

Happy Halloween!

Hello My Pretty Day Spa:

In today’s small business feature, we are happy to announce the grand opening of “Hello My Pretty Day Spa,” a full service exclusive salon for witches and warlocks.

Waste no time, hop on that broom, Kick off those pointy shoes, relax with a steamy eye of newt brew and your very own feral black cat- assigned to you at time of check in.

Flying monkeys driving you crazy during quarantine? We understand. Hello My Pretty is an exclusive day spa. Leave the flying monkeys outside while you indulge in a spectacular lunch of spider eggs and toads.

Have you indulged in one too many small children during the time of COVID? Our cool sculpting technicians will get you right back into that black dress- ready for a night of terrorizing the villagers.

Has your evil eye lost its radiant evilness? Come in for our exclusive chemical peel of goats eye and frog hairs…..that evil eye will stop Doorthy in her tracks- leaving her no time at all to steal your ruby slippers.

Yes, during this time of COVID, it can feel like a house has landed on top of your sister but don’t you worry my evil coven- we are here for you.

To quote owner and respected wicken, Lori Appleby-Hoke. “It’s not easy being green. But at hello My Pretty Day Spa, we double, double, toil and trouble……over you.”

Shake Your Bones at The Rib Cage
By Tracy Skochil for the Skeleton StarFeeling

Covid-catatonic and wanting to get out and move? A new fitness center down on Main Street may be just what skeletons (over the age of 18) have been waiting for! Owner Heather Schichtel, a long-time resident of Fossil Creek and active community organizer, decided to take the plunge and open during the pandemic.“I mean, the world is unpredictable. What are souls in this town going to do, wait forever for life to get back to normal?” Heather said, turning up the incline on her treadmill.

“Skeletons have got to get out and move. Staying in one place makes our joints stiffen, and no one wants that.”The Rib Cage Gym has everything from group fitness and kickboxing to spin classes and circuit training. The Little Socket Daycare is open from 6am to 8pm. The gym has luxurious showers, saunas to ease those creaky bones, a milk bar, and a calcium-enriched swimming pool. There’s a special introductory offer running for October: sign up the whole family and get free access to the movie theatre for six months. Jog or pedal along to everyone’s favorite, A Nightmare before Christmas, playing twice daily until December 26.

“We can all agree 2020 has been a year most skeletons would like to leave in the dust. So make plans now to join us on New Year’s Eve for our 8-hour cycle-thon to ride into 2021,” said Heather. “Replacement knees will be available to help you go the distance!”Call 1-888-Get-MOVIN for membership pricing.