Joy.

(I’m still wrapping my head around the camp weekend that was and I’m not quite ready to share my thoughts. Stay tuned for Camp Erin stories in the near future! In the meantime …)

It seems that it is in my super busy weeks that I need to name my joy. Just a written reminder that it’s there amidst the crazy.

I came home from camp, tired and pretty exhausted, only to begin a long week. In the course of the next seven days, I will preside over three funerals and one graveside service. I will preach and lead Sunday morning worship, and prepare and have fun at the last day of day camp.

So yeah. Where is my joy? Those things that calm my anxiety, the places in which I feel peace, the times that allow me to step back and breathe. Here they be:

Garden produce. I officially have a cucumber and a few zucchini. I ate a zucchini tonight and look forward to some cucumber and red pepper hummus tomorrow.

Bicycle rides. Dave and I rode to dinner last night in downtown Austin. It was a beautiful night; we even ate outside. It was perfection. So many of my favorite things.

Coffee and conversation with a dear, dear member beginning a hospice journey.

Open windows at night.

The succulent garden in my window.

Knowing that at the end of the craziness, visitors will arrive, this time in the form of sister Emma and crazy cousin Molly.

Finding the replacement pages to order for my daily planner binder. (Very exciting. I feel lost without them.)

A weeded garden.

Red wine with supper.

It’s likely that’s only a partial list but a good place to begin. A good reminder for when I’m curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and crying under stress. (I usually have to have one breakdown before I can really get things done. It’s just how I function.) But yes – joy is here. That’s a fact.

… but you might not hear from me for awhile. You’ll know why.