I decided recently to trim the length of the daily journal posts so I could put more time into longer topical writing efforts. Yet it's hard to do on a really full and particularly good day. I slept relatively well until about 3:30 AM when Scotty woke me. he clearly needed to get down and go outside. So I calmly got up and when out to the backyard with him where he proceeded to pee, and then trot around a bit until he pooped and came back in play. He's such a good dog! By this time, Jennifer was up and decided to start her day early. I slept in and did not go for meditation as initially planned. I did follow through on my plan to drive up to Sacramento to spend some time with Matt and with Lauren. I was really excited about doing so. I relished the drive-up. I had spectacular weather all day. There was scattered rain, but mostly a widely diverse range of light and dark clouds scattered amongst blue sky at various heights. It was cinematic. I appreciate being mindful of and in tune with these sorts of things. They are like the moments in nature documentaries or dramatically filmed movies that you watch with awe and wonder while missing the same experience in your own life. We had lunch at Cafeteria 15L, meandered a bit and dropped Lauren at Menchies for her 3-7 shift. Matt and I lingered at Midway Mall, looking at all the antiques that were once items we owned or grew up with. We tried to check out the Botanical gardens but it wasn't a good time of year for it. We lingered at Zocalo until Lauren got off and joined us. After dropping Matt, Lauren and I went to "Icicles" and Starbucks before I headed home. Tommy went off to his 1st full day at Ramblic today and Jen was so thoughtful to help with my mom's need to 'sanity check' a possible injury to her leg and ensure it wasn't broken. All the way home I was really thinking and feeling so fortunate to have the life I have and the people I have in it. I'm so deeply grateful for my friends, kids, wife, mother, and the harmony that I feel amongst them all.
