Saving Daylight

I started doing these "ta-da lists" (vs to-do) a couple years ago in a halfway, inconsistent sorta way - always appreciating when I did.  The idea is from Gretchen Rubin's podcast "Happier" - implying that you will more often get a positivity boost from making a list of things you did after   you did them than before you did them.  For me, it works.  To cure the halfway-sorta-way of doing them, I've recently decided that I'll try doing them monthly, rather than weekly or daily.   So here's October.  Some of these include pictures, which are also a happiness boost for me.  These are in no particular order, by the way.   1 .   Bike ride / walk four miles round trip to patio lunch at Founding Farmers.  This was an excellent way to spend an afternoon with otherwise no plans.  He was a real trooper on the bike for this long. 2.  Related to bike rides and general around-the-town, there's been at least ten playground outings, duck-feeding walks to the l

Some Sunday mornings, something stupid snatches the rested part of my weekend brain, now two days removed from the workweek, sprinkled with motivation for the week ahead but not before an intentional pause.  But other Sunday mornings, I harness the power of future-me regrets and decide to chase away the stupid with something more thoughtful. There is nothing more consistent than the positive outcome of this decision.    A guy I dated in college had a family life I always admired, with two high-energy, ambitious sisters, and parents who were very active in their community, well-read, hilarious, with deeply-rooted family traditions.  His dad regularly had “Beethoven Sundays”.  It’s as simple as it sounds.  He listened to Beethoven on Sundays.  Because it brought him joy.  We’re no longer in regular communication, but I’ve always hoped that he still does it.  This idea has stuck with me and marinated for a long time.     A couple years ago, I subscribed to Maria Popova’s weekly blogpost “