I found joy going to the health club and swimming for the first time in forever. I've realized that my body is holding trauma, maybe for many years, and this manifests in disordered eating and unexplained pains. Thus I've embarked in what I call "physical wellness".

It was so pleasant, to swim about 25 minutes and then sit in the whirlpool and stretch.

This is where I'm not going to get hard on myself about my shape, or how slow I am, or compare my body to anyone else's. This is about having fun, releasing stress wherever it hides, and pleasure in my own body. I accomplished all three things. It's about listening to my body, and building on my work when I can but stopping if it hurts.

The club itself is very body-positive, with no pressure to be a gym rat, lose x amount of weight, or look a certain way. I think there's one scale in the locker room, that's it. There are classes for really tough things like Cross-Fit, but I love the emphasis on fun and family. It's a very safe place for this kind of work. I doubt I'm the only one in there for bodywork, and not necessarily "exercise".

DOGS!!!! We have three Pitbulls and a... giant poodle something... at our emergency shelter at work right now. I don't usually work over there but the director called to let me know I had to come over ASAP to help welcome new furry friends. (This is a shelter for women and children but we have a grant that gave us parameters to allow them to bring dogs and cats if they are safe for communal living) I got to hug and scritch all of the wiggly happy dogs and assemble a big crate for the biggest of the big. Best part of my day.

My neurosurgeon telling me I'm allowed to drive again

Finding Joy Today
 

Sitting looking out my LR window at the falling snow and enjoying the fireplace. It is a comfortable view and peaceful. Gives me joy to have these things.

A very fun brunch today with a sweet, new, friend…
My beautiful and loving Shitzu’s and their 6 week old puppies learning to eat soft food…
My adult daughter randomly telling me she loves me…
A quiet evening at home after a very busy week…

I spent a lot of time over the weekend working on the house I'm buying and it's really starting to feel like home again. I lived in the home (rented) for 10 years but haven't lived there for the past 4 years and the energy really changed in there. I've scrubbed, saged, and aired the house out. Now I've been spending time painting, burning my favorite incense, and playing good music in there and it's feeling really good again.

Had lunch with a dear friend that I used to work with. I haven't seen her almost all year because we both had too much going on. It was such a delight to see her, especially now that we can celebrate her retirement.

Another joy... currently cuddled up on the couch with my 3 doggies, all snoring contently.

Forgot another joy... being able to get out of the house by myself and moving about with less pain.

Doing a great job on a task I completed for a friend. Also made friend some blueberry muffins.

Finding Joy Today
 

No snow again today. None on the ground. If the hwy. is clear my brother will come into town. Sunny cold days with little wind, beautiful winter day brings me joy to possibilities.

Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

Also, a happy doggo that loves to dance in the blowing cold wind while leaves swirl around her.

It was after midnight last night, so that counts as today.

The boy and I watched It's A Wonderful Life.

How did you find JOY today?
 

An old friend from some time ago that I hadn't spoken to in ages phoned me. She had been abroad and did not have my info with her so it has been a long long time for sure. Was so very nice to hear her voice as we go way back and her call was unexpected. We will get together soon and chat about old times. Brought much joy to me this day.

Playing Christmas games with the boy. Also, baking.

My application to the lineage society "Settlers and Builders of Ohio" was probably accepted! It was "good to go", according to the genealogist I was working with.

A lineage society is a group whose members can trace their ancestry back to a place or event, such as the Mayflower, the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War. Most states have one for early settlers or pioneers, and the one I applied for was for settlers in Ohio by 1850. That's a lot of generations, so it was a lot of documents.

I'm quite proud of this, even if the genealogist offered a lot of suggestions for future attempts at other societies, and can't wait for a conference in May when they give out the new certificates.

A phone call with a very good friend this morning. I picked up the phone and she just said... "Giiiiirrrrrlllll" and we busted out laughing, knowing it was going to be a fun talk.

I painted my bedroom yellow. It's a little more yellow than I thought it would be but that's okay. It's cheery.

Today I did my orientation for a new, very promising job.

It’s a team that I’m excited to join and I’m looking forward to working this weekend.

I feel like finally everything is falling into place with work, school and returning to a place that feels like home …

My bestie and I went to go see the Bob Dylan movie today. It was really good. It absolutely highlighted his talent as a lyricist and musician was real about how he was an ass in his younger years.

About 3/4 of the way through I told my friend I was struggling with the fact that no one goes to the bathroom. There were a lot of scenes of people waking up in the morning and going to light a cigarette, make coffee, write a song, have a conversation. But no one gets up and goes to the bathroom. My friend turned to me and said that she was struggling with the fact that none of the men were waking up with morning wood and then going to the bathroom. I died.

Anyway, it wasn't just about Dylan. It was about Pete Seeger, Woodie Guthrie, Joan Baez and the Newport Folk Fest and ... just smatterings of attention to the civil rights movement of the time. A LOT more could have been done with that. But all around, it was a good watch. In my opinion.

I believe he's still known to be an ass. What kind of person doesn't show up to receive their Nobel Prize? Also, last concert a friend attended, Bob reportedly stood as far back from the edge of the stage as he could, a horrified, snobby look on his face, and didn't interact with the audience at all except to sing as short a set as possible.

* * *

How I found JOY today:

After Christmas clearance sales. I got a pair of nude shoes for 80% off! and a blue bra that I really need to match a sweater for 60% off.

I forgot about the Nobel Prize. He really is quite full of himself.

Find joy today.
 

Super pleased to hear our news that one of our provinces has gone to CA to help with helecopters and water bombers as well as ground crew to help fight this terrible fire raging through the homes of so many helpless people. I am very glad to hear that two more provinces are preparing to send more help in the next day or two. One of the people organizing this help line says "people and their homes as individuals are much more important than the government of either country in their disputes". Canada will reach a hand to whoever needs it reguardless of where they happen to live. This has made the majority of Canadians very happy to help neighbours. We pray for the safety of the CA people and hope our help will put a stop to this disaster.

And then one of those are taken out by someone flying a drone in a no-fly zone. I appreciate the help of Canada and can't believe how that one was taken out of commission.

Watching the sunrise through the rhododendron this morning….
the still naked trees against the sky as it wakes up…
my rescue dog, Henry, trotting ahead of me in a hurry to get breakfast… he wasn’t able to run when I first got him <3

My daughter and her family were here for dinner tonight. My baby girl, who is six, declared me the best gramma in the world. Made my heart sing.
Smooches,
Keri

There was a ridgerunner training on the trails my friend and I were hiking today. He was wearing these little blue short shorts covered in yellow rubber ducks. They were a riot. He was so sweet. He would stop and chat every time he ran by us.

I received a note from one of my cousins containing some memories from when we were young. It made me smile. So I sent him back a note with my memory of him playing in his rock band in college. The only song I could remember was "Barbara Ann". I hope it made him smile too.

I was able to help our rowing club put in the docks today. That was exciting. I can't wait to get back on the river this spring. My job today was connecting pieces of the docks to the thingies hanging down from the crane so the crane could lower the pieces down into the water where other volunteers were there to connect them all. It was quite the process!

I have been really deep diving into the joys of living alone. I've raised my child. I've been married and divorced. I've purchased a sweet small home that I love every inch of. I'm learning new ways to make it mine.

It's a small house with a pretty small bathroom. Which is normally just fine. However, I find I'm often wired at night and have trouble settling down. Especially after I have crew practice or a work event. I'll be hyperactive tired.

I was thinking, it would be great if I could have a hot bath at night to help me settle in. But there's no tub in my bathroom.

I found a collapsible tub that fits in my shower. My shower is 45 inches wide and the tub is 40. I wasn't sure how it would work but I had to give it a try. I had recently put a shower speaker in my shower so I can listen to music in the morning while I get ready for work. I've been using shower steamers too. Just upping the bathing routine one step at a time. Tonight, after working all day and then going to my parents to help them with a bunch of stuff, I was hot and had a lot of energy. It was tubby time.

I tested out the tub. It set up like a dream. I put a new audio book on my shower speaker. I put essential oils in the bath water. I soaked and relaxed and listened to a story. Total energy shift to relaxed and calm. I was worried about it draining but I had hooked up the equipment correctly to go down the shower drain and it all worked fine.

I don't think there's anything else in the world that I need.