What's Good

I'm hoping, in the last weeks of 2017, to have a few listy/year-in-review posts on personal/cultural levels. But in the meantime, in the spirit of gratitude journaling, a brief snapshot:


Tonight, I spent the evening making a huge batch of chili con carne for a party I'm throwing this weekend - my eighth annual Muppet Christmas Special party - having spent the last few nights baking cookies and bonbons. I'm writing this in a comfortable armchair by the glow of a Christmas tree in an apartment that already feels cozy and is beginning to feel settled and homey. I'm drinking a wee pour of Jura Scotch brought by a visiting friend who gave me a solid weekend of heart-satisfaction. I've been lucky enough to land employment that pays the bills, and to be near enough to friends to make plans on the spur of the moment, to feel loved and supported and connected to the world outside myself. It is a good time, and in the dark of the night and the glow of the tree, I feel hope and joy kickin', jumpin' and scrappin' like ungainly goats.

I'm still chipping away at the dissertation, and I have days that fatigue, depression and anxiety nip at my heels, that I get frustrated at our reactionary politics. But there's so much foundational support close at hand these days, and I've been through enough wringers by now - to ride those out. And so, I'm happy.

And I'm lucky! Things are good. This too will pass - as will whatever comes next, and whatever comes after that - but in this moment, I'm mindful of the great good given to me, and eager to keep nudging into the future to try to repay the world around me in kind. Here's hoping your holiday season gives you moments to take stock, hold up the things that give you joy, and know that you're loved and essential for the world to be what it can be today. (Oh, and if your life's set up for this, find yrself someone nice to snuggle with and cuddle up somewhere that makes you happy. What's the point of all this cold if not to carve out a little warmth in the midst of it all?)