joy: week 22

it's raining cats and dogs

duke is really into when the levee breaks

It is 5am and I am in my sister’s house in Rhode Island. Everyone else is still sleeping. I am up and showered and dressed, having coffee and writing this newsletter. This is one of my favorite places to be; when I am at Lisa’s house, I am relaxed, I am comforted, I am spoiled and taken care of. My brother-in-law, my nephew, their dog (pictured above) - it’s a just a house full of mirth.

Jo-Anne and I arrived Friday night and immediately I was in a cocoon of warmth and love. Being with my sisters is a salve. When the three of us are together, the world feels a little different. It’s lighter, more enjoyable. My stress disappears. We don’t even do anything spectacular. We just play cards for hours, watch movies, talk, and laugh. Today we will watch football outside and eat junk food and generally just have a pleasant time. This, my friends, is my true joy in life. Being with family, being nurtured and loved, feeling completely at ease, feeling full on a combination of laughter, togetherness, and comfort. We are here until tomorrow and I am just going to soak this up.

We watched two movies already that I’d somehow never seen. First up was Dodgeball. It was the dumbest movie I’ve seen since Billy Madison and somehow I loved it just as much. I laughed so much. So dumb. Then we watch Hubie Halloween, which was just as dumb but adorable. I used to give Adam Sandler such shit but I’ve found that over the past few years I’ve gained an appreciation for him. His movies can be so over the top stupid, but that’s what I love about them. The joy of tuning into a film knowing you don’t have to think or analyze, that you can just turn your mind off and laugh for a little while is so understated.

A big joy this week - and I buried the lede here, I think - is that my adorable kitten Reilly is getting a playmate! When I dropped him off at the cat sitter (his foster mom) she showed me another kitten she is fostering. Smaller than Reilly! A little tuxedo cat name Piglet! Well, I got a video of them playing together and that was it. I knew I could never separate them. They bonded immediately and the sitter said they are inseparable now. What else can I do? It would be wrong to tear them apart, and Reilly would love to have a permanent playmate.

it’s 4am do you want to play

Every week when I write this newsletter, I go through my camera roll to see what I did during the week. I’ve got nothing but cat pictures. And that’s not going to change any time soon. In fact, it’s going to get worse.

It was a good week. I’m feeling good. Hope you had a great week, too. I leave you with some music that has brought me a lot of joy recently.