The smell of fresh honey oat bread. It wafts into the hallway in my building and makes me sigh with pleasure when I open my front door. And it's even better now that I can share it.
Smoothies made from fruits and veggies. A cup of tea, heated in my flowered teapot, a good book, a blanket my mom crocheted and all of this in my favorite teal chair with a cat or two in reach.
Warm December weather, warm summer air, biking and skating and swimming and walking and driving with my windows down--also better when shared.Yoga in the park. Reconnecting with my body each time I stretch, breathe, sweat and move. Lately I feel angry and frustrated with my health, but these activities remind me that I have control over some things and that my body is not my enemy.
720 uninterrupted hours of travel with my sister. 6,457 miles through 13 states, 3 concerts, 4 art museums, one 19th birthday, 5 grad school tours, one trip to the doctor, 22 cats and dogs, and one set of keys locked in the trunk.
New friends in new places, old friends in familiar places, my mom and dad and sisters, aunts uncles and cousins. Opportunities to see friends who have moved away since graduation. Six months in the company of a generous, hilarious, down-to-earth boyfriend who shares my interests and is open to new ones.
My first act of 2011 was to sneak from a bar, climb into my mom's bed and sob. If I'm crying as 2012 begins, they'll be tears of happiness and gratitude.