Thirty-Six Little Delights 🎂
A snapshot in time.
My 36th birthday was a little over two weeks ago, and in honor of it I started to compile a list.
At first, I considered writing a list of life lessons, but once I got a few down I realized that didn’t feel right or good. I’m in a phase of my life where everything I thought I knew I’m re-learning again and in a new way. It seems as though my zone of discomfort for not having all the answers is expanding (which is probably a good thing), and yet this also means that my sense that I have anything figured out is contracting. I’m not honestly sure if that makes sense at all but nevertheless, it didn’t feel fun to explore and codify and publish such life lessons. Check back in another 36 years should I be so lucky.
Something that felt a lot more energizing to me, though, was reflecting on recent moments of delight. I thought this would make a nice new tradition to start and repeat every year around my birthday, something to serve as a time-capsule, a window into my worldview at a specific moment in time, an exercise in reflection of presence and a list that I could remake to capture the collective ~vibe~. Because who are we if not some amalgamation of what is lighting us up?
So, in belated honor of my thirty-sixth year on Earth, in no particular order, here is a list of as many moments of delight, the moments in recent months/memory that made me feel a big yes in my body:
When the resident Labrador wanders in at 5am, hops onto the bed, nestles into its two bodies then collapses her chin snugly into my lap, promptly falling back asleep.
Morning greetings from Lando, the resident snaggle-toothed dog, and how he shoves his little head between my knees asking for attention (and his morning walk).
The sight of a bird’s tousled feathers blowing individually through the vision of my new binoculars, gifted by my partner Ben.
Ben also baked me a favorite cake, a carrot cake, from scratch and on demand on the morning of my birthday. We proceeded to eat the remainder of the cake for the next week between the two of us.
Seeing the first tomatoes and jalapeños of the season begin to fruit in the garden.
Meeting my friends’ 6-month-old baby daughter, holding her while she played the piano at a brewery in the Hudson Valley.
Getting together with a friend group together and even though it’s bigger and different it still feels like old-times.
Teaching yoga on a grassy lawn on a 75-degree and sunny day in Tucson for the city’s first yoga festival.
Seeing huge flowers blooming from pink glory cacti while on a walk in my neighborhood.
Spending the better part of a Saturday afternoon walking around with Ben, laying on a blanket in Himmel Park to watch the clouds and listen to Danielle Ponder’s album, Some of Us Are Brave.
Seeing the new Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well album in a record store window, walking in to buy it, taking it home to listen by myself start to finish while dancing around the living room.
The absolute full body sensory spectacle that was the sandhill crane migration.
Making my first form on the pottery wheel.
Glazing my first bowl with a set of tongs and a big dip into the glaze bath. So scary, so satisfying.
Giving Alfie the ginger cat little behind the ear scratchies at the pottery studio, both of us covered in dust.
Laying in the hammock in the backyard reading The Fifth Season.
That first sip of a CBD half-sweet vanilla latte from Coffee Times.
When the barista at the drive-through sees the dogs in the backseat and offers them treats.
Getting a hole-in-one on the final hole at a mini golf course, allowing me to spin a giant spinner and win a coupon for a free ice cream. The closest I will ever get to feeling like I was on a game show.
A smooth, no-falls 5-mile trail run at Saguaro east on my birthday.
When a restaurant menu has non-alcoholic drinks that are actually, legitimately delicious.
The simplicity and soothing nostalgia of cracking up with a friend, which happened to be while watching a glass blowing competition show.
Making a vision board with a group of friends I met at a metaphysical shop while snow starts to fall on the desert earth outside.
The conversations I’ve been having with the ladies in my writing group.
A coworker asking if I’d lead another yoga nidra session for mental health week given the popularity of the last one.
Taking a cool dip in the creek “jacuzzi.”
When my dumb jokes make the yoga students in class laugh. When a student comes up after class to ask a question, later adding that she also loved the music.
Sitting down on the ground to record a new meditation on my phone while on a break on a hike.
Learning and sharing and connecting with fellow students about somatic practices for engaging in conflict at my yoga studio. Discovering something new about myself and how I can show up in relationships. Being in awe of the vulnerability of fellow students.
A giant bowl of homemade popcorn and a new show on the couch with my love.
Waking up early on a Monday morning, popping on my Discover Weekly playlist, dancing around my office in between feeding the dogs or emptying the dishwasher or tidying up the house.
Mornings spent writing at Cafe a La Carte patio while chowing down on something delicious like an omelette or salmon benedict.
Playing my djembe (when no one’s around).
Going on my first backpacking trip into Aravaipa Canyon, best described by my hiking mate as the desert’s secret little garden. A true oasis beyond words inexplicably tucked into the Sonoran, where the creek flows year-round.
Waking up at 5am in our tent surrounded by the cool, cozy air of the blue hour at pre-dawn and happening to see a great blue heron soar over the creek from the view out the “window.”
An afternoon without cell reception spent sitting on the ground with my feet in the gently flowing water, writing in my journal.
If you believe in belated birthday gifts, I would love to know… What’s a little delight in your life lately? Let me know in the comments here!
A “Full-Body Yes” Playlist
Today’s musical offering for your personal enjoyment! The songs that have made me smile, wiggle and shake lately.
Happy birthday! What a delightful way to celebrate!