Joy of the Day, Day 42: Joy Bank

Recently I’ve been really interested in keeping track of my sleep, because I’m increasingly convinced of its impact on health and well-being. These days, when rhythms are still feeling erratic and unfamiliar, and when our whole lives seemed enveloped by the overarching reality of the coronavirus, the quality and quantity of sleep I’m getting seems very relevant.

A few weeks ago, Kristin told me about a great app called AutoSleep. It records all kinds of stats, using my Apple Watch, which together comprise a thorough analysis of whether or not I’m getting good rest, and/or enough of it. One of my favorite features of the app is called Sleep Bank. The idea is that sleep is actually bankable: if you get a really good night’s sleep for a few nights in a row, your body can use it as a credit against a night or two of wakefulness, so that your mind and body—in theory—still feel ready to face the day full throttle.

I love this idea because, well, nobody’s perfect, and nobody gets a great sleep score every night—especially not during a pandemic; in the idea of a sleep bank lies potential for both the satisfaction of getting credit for excellent sleep performance, and the comfort of knowing that a night or two of poor rest will not set me back too far.

It occurred to me this morning that I think joy might work the same way. And I think I’ve got a good bit of credit in my joy bank.

Today was a “just fine” kind of day. The weather was good this morning and Amelia and I had a nice long walk with Charlotte, but after that some clouds and light rain rolled in so I spent a good bit of the afternoon puttering un/productively. Maybe because the day was sort of unremarkable, I found myself thinking about some joyful moments collected, even compounded, over the past couple days and they kept me smiling. Here are a few of the things recently deposited into my joy bank that transferred into today’s account:

We went over to the Frenches for a BBQ and s’mores on Saturday evening—the first time our family has really left the house to do anything other than go for walk. Our time was distanced and outside, but felt so normal; apart from some conversation around topics related to the corona virus, it was just like many other beautiful summer evenings we’ve enjoyed together, gathered around the French’s patio table and fire pit.

Then yesterday, Mother’s Day, just really brimmed with joy—far more so than any one day has a right to, and there were far too many sweet moments to fit into a single “joy of the day” Facebook post. For one thing, the weather was perfect. We took two walks in the park, and on each walk found a beautifully painted rock, each hidden by a different rock artist. On the back of each rock the artist had painted a note asking us, the finders, to take a picture of her work and post it on the PNW Rocks Facebook page, which I did. In finding those rocks, which are like little treasures, and then posting their photos, a whole new, beautiful community of people and art was revealed to me, generating a good deal of bankable joy.

And finally, the peonies. Yesterday was the day that the peonies in our garden decided to make their 2020 debut, to my extreme delight. I cut some and set them on the table for us to enjoy during dinner outside last night; their fragrance still lingered there to meet me this morning when I stepped barefooted out onto the patio, already warm from the new day’s sun.

Today, time with friends, painted rocks and peonies are my joy. #joyinplace