Arriving

It's a tiny cabin in the woods on the side of a mountain. I drove three and a half hours to get here on highways, large and small, and roads that wound up to the top of a ridge and then back down again into the valley, across a river or two or three and down a gravel road or two. The directions said things like, "Look for these landmarks," and "don't use your GPS." 

Yikes. 

But I'm here and the insects are singing in the darkness and the internet is spotty and the wine is a beautiful Tempranillo, Rioja. A bath with Epsom salts is calling. Flickering candlelight supplements soft lamplight. 

My ritual upon arriving is to unpack and set up before I do anything else. While looking out the kitchen window, my attention was caught by a tiny wren perched on the deck rail, welcoming me. He stayed and sang a bit, a tiny song in a tiny moment of wonder.  

A Hundred Days of Happiness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience.

Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.