Good things:

The boy did not miss the bus.

I remembered to schedule an oil change.

I've almost finished copyediting a difficult manuscript.

The blackflies aren't too bad yet.

The Vagabond's Notebook is close to being ready for the printer.

The dog-cat tag team did not wake me at 3 a.m.

The Red Sox have scored 40 runs in 3 days.

One son is graduating from a college he loves.

The other son has been accepted into a college he loves.

I planted about a thousand dahlia tubers yesterday.

The lawnmower is not broken.


Hard things:

Suddenly I'm not living full time with my husband.

My dog is old and frail.

I may never pick chanterelles in my woods again.

I appear to be the only static element in a vortex of other people's changes.


What helps:

Singing.

Reading books.

Keeping my house tidy.

Walking down to the stream to look for fiddleheads.

Picking daffodils.

Staring out the window.

Listening to the baby crows scream for breakfast.

Wearing my red bathrobe.

Counting on your patience.

Writing a word or two.

Telling jokes over the phone.

Looking forward.