What I Am Taking Into December

1. More rocks. Thirty of them, in fact. 

Yes, we already had plenty of rocks here. But going over to the beach at our little camp to pick up a rock, and snapping a photo of it, and then bringing it back to sit in a bowl in the kitchen were nice breaks from revising in November. 

2. Something I don’t have words for yet, but if I did, one of them might be “ease,” and another might be “soft,“ and another might be “strength.” 

I just realized that both “easy” and “soft” are antonyms of “hard.” A better antonym of “ease,” I suppose, is “effort.” 

(Welcome to my brain.)

In any case, I am feeling a form of strength. With ease and softness. (That sounds like an ad: “Double-concentrated Strength: now with ease and softness!”)

Maybe because 2022 held some really difficult (hard) experiences, yet here I am. I imagine/expect/am unbothered by the fact that the future will hold its share of challenges, and I’ll survive those, too. 

3. Gratitude (hmm, I say this a lot). I appreciate being here (alive at all) and being here (in this geographical place) and being here (at this age), and being here (in this marriage and life), all at the same time. 

With rocks. 

Here's hoping you are the same.