Last Friday I had my annual mammogram. And last night I got the results that everything is normal.

Healthy boobs are bringing me joy this week. Get yours checked, too, if you haven’t.

Short and sweet this Wednesday, friends!

Of course the thing, or should I say things, that’s bringing me joy this week is having kittens. Fred and George are fun to play with and very very fun to snuggle with. They are growing more comfortable in their new home and exploring more as a result but they are still pretty well behaved. They love to play under the dining room table (Dale calls it the kitty jungle gym) and they have their moments where they chase each other through the house . . . and then they collapse on the couch and sleep for hours. They call to each other when they are in separate rooms and they meow with different tones and inflections to the point where I’m pretty sure they are having entire conversations.

Bringing two kittens into our lives at this time was not a decision we made lightly but it’s one that is clearly going to bring us a lot of joy.

The thing that is bringing me joy this week is probably very obvious, given that one week ago right now we were dealing with the aftermath of a very powerful nor’easter. Yes, I’m talking about . . . electricity. It’s so easy to take it for granted and, boy, when it’s gone, it’s so hard to do without it.

We got our power back just after 7:30pm last Thursday night, about 42 hours after losing it and about 10 minutes after plugging in a borrowed generator. I’d like to say that I embraced our forced down time but . . . I did not. It makes me cranky to not be able to turn on the lights. It makes me cranky to not be able to get a news update. It makes me cranky to have a cell phone that doesn’t work because the cell towers are all jammed. And it really makes me cranky to not be able to make coffee in the morning.

In reality, we have a pretty good set up without electricity. Our hot water is gas and works even if the power is out. Our cook top is gas so I can still prepare food, we have a wood stove so we aren’t cold, and I’ve got loads and loads of battery operated candles and twinkle lights so we aren’t really in the dark. And yet, even with all of those things in place, I miss WiFi and charging devices and downloading books to my Kindle.

There are lessons here, as always, about lifestyle choices and mindful living and finding silver linings. But for now I’ll just say that electricity and cable television and WiFi are joyful things to have.

It’s been a week, friends, and joy has been somewhat elusive. And yet, I know how important it is that I find it. And in considering that, I realized it’s right at my kitchen table every morning in the form of my gratitude journal.

Every morning, while my coffee brews, I sit and make a list of 5 things I am grateful for and I write them in this book. I have done this for 787 consecutive days now. Sometimes the lists are quick and easy, sometimes they are longer and more profound, but there is always a list.

And writing that list every day reminds me to be grateful and it’s just a quick hop from grateful to joy.

Not knitting is definitely a challenge for me these days. Not only do I miss it for the way it made me feel productive, I miss it for the way it helped me cope with stress and anxiety. I also miss it when Wednesday rolls around and I don’t have knitting to talk about.

So, I came up with a new idea and I’m calling it Joyful Wednesday. It will be a way to, once a week at least, share something that’s bringing me joy. And what’s a better antidote to pain and anxiety than joy?

This week, it’s the cranberry harvest that’s bringing me joy. Every October I see it, and it never gets old.

It’s a thing of joy for sure.