Joy Fuel
Or, This post is brought to you by cats, books, and chlorine.
{This post is inspired by Keris Fox’s Focussing on joy.}
To be clear:
I am not a person who will ever tell you, “Chin up. Tomorrow’s just a day away.”
If you’re feeling feelings, feel them. Sit in them as long as you need to. See them and name them and be with them then send them on their way when you’re ready.
A lot of us have very big feelings right now. Some would say it comes with the territory (adulting). But it feels more acute than that. Like a flare-up of a chronic condition. A particularly bad flare-up.
I’m having feelings. Lots of them. Some really uncomfortable ones. But I’m also finding little things that make me happy and get me through the discomfort. Because the one “sunshine and rainbows” thing I will tell you today is:
I promise, it will get better.
We’ve got this.
Now, for a short list of the things bringing me joy lately (aside from everything pink-and-orange).
My perfect cat
(I mean, you’re not surprised, are you?)
Bird is 16 years old, but you’d never know that given the way she galloped over to us when we recently returned from a week in Myrtle Beach. She is a barrel of purrs. Her fur is inexplicably soft—always has been. We say she’s part rabbit, part fox, part raccoon.
Her favorite thing to do right now is settle next to me immediately after I sit down on the couch. She has commandeered the middle cushion—her heating pad and blanket live there permanently and her kitty stairs lead right to it.
I sit down, she settles beside me. I reach over and pet her approximately every three minutes. I give her long, massaging strokes on her belly. She flips over for more. She makes air biscuits with her giant polydactyl paws.
Sometimes I worry she’s going to run out of purrs, but thus far her supply is endless.
Reading
I’ve been on social media a lot less and am working to be more intentional and focused with my time. A pleasant side effect? I’m reading more! I already read a lot1 but now reading feels more luxurious. I’ve also chosen a few hits in a row—nothing kills a reading streak faster than an uninteresting book—so my momentum is high.
If you’re a murder mystery fan, check out Benjamin Stevenson’s Ernest Cunningham series. He breaks the fourth wall in a quirky, fun way, and his plot lines keep me guessing. It’s sort of like reading your way through an escape room.
My humidifiers
Here in Maryland, November through March are shockingly dry—and I mean that literally. The air gets so dry that the simple act of getting up from a chair produces enough friction to make you positively buzz with static electricity.
When Joe or I go in for a kiss during these months, we “discharge” first by touching an arm or metal chair before bringing our lips together. We learned this the hard way.
It follows that we’ve invested in a few humidifiers. We prefer cool mist humidifiers. We fill them with filtered water from the kitchen faucet, otherwise our furniture gets a thin layer of white residue on it (minerals?).
But why settle for boring, adult-y humidifiers when you can have a HIPPOPOTAMUS? Or a UNICORN?!
Those are the two varieties of Crane Adorables we have. The unicorn just came yesterday. She lives in the bedroom and makes it feel magical.
Bird approves. They are her friends and she looks forward to them coming out every year.2 She rubs up against them, and sometimes half-mounts them so one stream hits her square in the belly and the other mists her face.
Aqua Zumba
I missed two weeks of Aqua Zumba classes when we were in Myrtle Beach, so I was jonesing for a workout when I came home. Aqua fitness is the one workout I’ve been able to do consistently without getting hurt. It’s easier on the joints and ::AHEM:: you get to PLAY IN A POOL and call it “exercise.”
Last night, I joyfully returned to my heavily chlorinated heaven and jumped, kicked, punched, and danced my way into a dopamine high.
Go here to find a class. Enter your location, and then when it takes you to the search results, click on the “More Filters” button to narrow it down to Aqua Zumba (or whatever other Zumba you’re looking for. I don’t judge.)
What’s bringing you joy lately?
This is my second year of having a goal of reading 100 books in a year. I’m on book #91 now.
Probably because they signal an end to use shocking her every time we touch her.
Yay! And Aqua Zumba sounds like so much fun!
I started exercising again after a long break due to a broken ankle and then inertia. I knew it would be good for me in many ways, but I underestimated how much better it made me feel!