This morning I awoke to the howling of coyotes. I remember when we first moved to our land, I heard a keening in the night that sounded like a bird was being ripped apart. Only now do I realize that keening was actually the sound of coyotes. They are not the bold coyotes that used to walk the streets at night in Calabasas where Stephen used to live when we were first dating. We never see them face to face. We’ve caught them on the game cam a few times, but they remain elusive except for their night howling.

I have been in a funk these past weeks. It didn’t help that I came down with the flu last Wednesday night. Yes, I was the only one in my family who did not get a flu shot. I usually do, but this year the months slipped by and hello flu. Today I drove an hour and half south to go see a Chi Nei Tsang practitioner. She described her work as feeding the organs. I feel as though I’ve gotten a tune up. Positive energy is flowing through me and I feel a lightness. It does help that the weather is warming up and the sun is shining today. I don’t remember feeling as connected to the seasons changing when we lived in Southern California compared to now. I realize our seasons here are in no way comparable to other parts of the country or world, but the slight shift in seasons, however mild, do seem to be affecting how I feel in my body. Perhaps it will take a few years for my body to adjust to the seasonal changes and make peace.

I was listening to the On Being podcast with Mark Hyman, James Gordon, and Penny George discussing “The Evolution of Medicine.” James Gordon shared how he learned that in the Qur’an there is a saying “when you do not have hope, you have to find it in the face of another.” It was a beautiful thought that inspired me once again to be that bright light for those around me. But also, to find that hope in the faces I look into every day.

And to end on a brighter note, in the four year old news world, Zoey will be marrying Zane. She is getting an early start planning her wedding and would like to have her flower girl ride around on a horse.