Almost normal again

It’s almost eerie how things are back to normal again this week as I return to my routines, friends, and home. It’s a new normal that I am enjoying and taking stock of things that are important to me. An inventory of things that are right in life this Monday:

• A supportive network of family, friends, coworkers, neighbors – and a reciprocal web that I know I can be for them as well.
• Two cats purring and cozy in their bed in the backroom
• Two vacation days coming up at the end of the week to make for a five-day Labor Day Weekend.
• Knowing that I will do some personal “labor” on that holiday but also take time for fun and silliness
• It’s foggy and in the low 60s in San Francisco. I remember why I live here.
• The cool bounty of unusual storage boxes, portfolios, cleaning supplies and other items my friend Joe and I got yesterday at Target yesterday.
• Taking a walk to Bernal Hill last night in the fog and enjoying the dogs and their walkers. That’s the way I like kids and dogs – a quick greeting and smile and you don’t have to pick up their poop and can walk away if they get cranky.
• Reconnecting with more of my extended family members in Oklahoma and California. I hear from more of them each day. I don’t want to lose these connections, and plans for a family reunion in December are already in the works.