Things that have lately reminded me that I am alive:

• The sun laying on top of a vine in the morning, so heavily it looks corporeal
• All the flowers and trees that are blooming again now that we have gotten and continue to get some rain
• Relatedly, the eucalyptus tree in our backyard which is so rich with fresh leaves; they are heavy on the tree but also they fall down in the wind and form thick beds on our brick patio, which I continually have to sweep up every time I want to do sit ups or leg lifts on that same patio (though sometimes I think I should just lie down in the leaves)
• The bush that Paul and I walk past every morning, which is always full of sparrows hopping around and chirping, and which reminds me of an old Chip & Dale cartoon (from the era before they could talk, before Rescue Rangers) when the chipmunks find themselves inside a Christmas tree and stroll around admiring the lights as if they were in an enchanted forest, which always made me scrutinize the tree for what might be inside, and how it might feel to be the one in there
• Remembering I can do things to actively change my mood—like exercise, or take a nap, or drink some cold water—and then doing it
• Playing pickleball with Dave, even though technically the first thing it made me exclaim was “This is fun, like playing a VR game!” But then we played, outside, in the real world of the park, and used the dirty but functional park bathrooms, and kept dodging and weaving on the court as it began to rain on us, and only left when it got so wet we worried we might slip and fall, and when we got into the car we were putrid with sweat and rain water, but happy and tired, and now two days later my legs are still sore in unlikely places
• The mountains are so green you can see it from our street, the way they are full of water and life