At our school co-op, back when we used to meet up IRL, there were parent education meetings every Tuesday night. ak would bike from downtown to school after work to attend the meetings, while I stayed with our kid and did bedtime routine. The meetings would always kick off with, “Appreciations”. It was your opportunity to thank someone/group of someone’s, for something they did to help you or the community-at-large for going above+beyond. I like this practice, so here are some things I’m feeling appreciative for these days:

The perfectly ripe fruit platter above. The strawberries+raspberries+cherries were so sweet and juicy, we almost ate the whole thing in one sitting. mk’s face was absolutely covered in red stickiness, and his joyful smile every time he reached his little hand back in to that copper dish, had us all smiling.

The way mk pronounces some words: ka-kause (because), snoodie (smoothie), no way hahnze (no way Jose).

The true love that has exploded between mk+ak. I mean, they were fans of one another before, but mk being able to chat with ak in person throughout the day has been a game changer. He runs to her when he’s got exciting news to share! He runs to her when he+I have had a “disagreement” (he’s really latched on to that word, and he will bring up a disagreement from ages ago that I have to rack my brain to recall. I do love that he’s learning to advocate for himself, and to define some thoughts and feelings with words we all understand!) He draws her pictures, has thoughts to share, stories to tell, food for her to taste, and on and on. At first, I tried to keep him out of her “office” during the workday, so she could focus, but over the weeks the two of them have worked out a system that mostly works for them, on when he can pop in and out, and if it’s a time a work pause can be taken.

The food we’ve been making and sharing. The fresh bread! The crunchy salads! The sweet berries! The tasty treats! And let’s give a shout out to HOT BREAKFAST! I’m a long time lover of it, but being able to share that love with ak on regular workdays, makes me so happy! Breakfast burrito on a Monday? Sure! A piping hot ham+egg+cheese with a side breakfast salad? You betcha! Warm salted chocolate chip cookies, and a whipped iced coffee at 2:30p on a Thursday? Why. The. Fuck. Not!

Fresh air has always been clutch to my happiness status, but these days it’s even more beloved. I certainly have days where making the effort to get outside safely masked up and socially distanced can be daunting. Or, we get caught in the rain, or mayhaps we have a terrible interaction while out on the bike, but we do our best, and if it sucks, we try again next time. I try and practice gratitude in my life on the daily, but sitting next to the Pacific Ocean, watching the gulls and the seals and the crows and the pelicans and my little bud romping in the sand is like an out of body experience these weeks.

The time with my best friend. It can feel like the job of fifteen people to keep a household running, especially with dependents (kids/pets/parents etc.). But, since we are so aware of everything going on with the other half of our duo, we can make space on the days it’s really needed to ask the other if they want to bow out of certain chores. We can give them space to give someone a call, or to make something with their hands, or to go on a solo masked up walk or bike ride. We are a couple that communicates constantly, but there is something about seeing+hearing what’s actually taking place throughout someone’s work week, that gives a fresh perspective on their serious hustle. A partnership, for us, is just that, and our motto of, “If you’re working, I’m working” has held even more true during these quarantine months. A feeling I hadn’t expected at the start of 2020, was to feel like we were going to level up on our partnership skills again, and it makes me shake with that gratitude that at the age of 16, I found a partner to share and explore, the adventure that is life.

I miss my friends. I miss my extended family. I miss that special feeling of dining out in restaurants. I miss walking out my front door with nothing on my face, but the sunshine. I miss seeing people in parks and playgrounds, and my first thoughts not being about if they might be sick, or too close to us, or whether they are wearing a mask or not. But, these things are the reality we’re living right now. So, instead, I’ll continue to do my best to focus on the things this strange time has made me grateful for: building even tighter family bonds, dogs lounging in the sunshine, mk reallllly taking to drawing, realizing mk doesn’t actually care that much about television/screen time, pausing on folding the laundry and instead crawling back in to bed to listen to a podcast with my family while the rain comes down outside, and not feeling any pressure to physically be anywhere for anything or anyone, because we can’t right now. There is freedom in being “stuck” as well. Sending love.