As I draft this, it’s 7:23am on a Sunday morning in early October. (Doesn’t 7:23 feel like a made-up time? I don’t know.) My phone tells me it’s 7°C outside.

We’re awake unusually early because my body is still readjusting to Pacific Standard Time. Jesse’s in the kitchen. I hear the kettle boiling, and the sound of someone moving around purposefully.

My biggest life complaints right now are:

1. A mild headache brought on by readjusting to my favorite pillow after a month away from home.
2. Mild financial anxiety regarding the fact that I am not working, just spent a lot of money on vacation, and have more expenses (moving continents again) coming up. It’s nothing I won’t be able to deal with, but it’s the first time I’ve been unemployed by choice. It’s low-level background anxiety.

All this is to say that my list of complaints is both short and mild, and for this I am giddyingly grateful.