good health—the positive management of your health

enough food—bowls of berries and platters of cheese, black beans, red tomatoes and good chocolate 

the love of another person, or of an animal

safety—a warm home without fear

steaming cups of coffee and strong, black tea

good books on frigid mornings

candles that smell like balsam, like cherry pipe tobacco, like spicy cinnamon

old photos 

tattered quilts

pine cones and dried flowers in vases

love letters tucked away with ribbons

crunchy walks in the snow

a good type of tired—from puttering in the house, from doing good for others, from shoveling someone’s walkway, from reading an entire book of poems in one night

freedom to get things wrong and freedom to get things right every once in a while