Well, gals and guys, last week was a bit rough. That bane of my existence, conflict with someone I love, started the week off in a yucky way. After dealing with that to the best of my ability, sickness knocked me out of commission for nearly three days. I’m grateful, though, that even with two big strikes against it, this past week still provided plenty of moments of peace, unity, connection, and happiness. Here are three things from last week that will keep me smiling through this week:

1) Our new fence makes me smile. Brian and I are in the process of readying our yard and our lives for backyard chickens. It’s been a dream of ours to have our own small flock for a couple years now. Our first big task was to create space in the yard for them. Our side yard is perfect for chickens but the old fence needed to be torn down so that we could fence in a larger portion of the yard. I tore down the old fence portion and Brian built the new fence. I absolutely love it. I love that Brian took on a new project and did it so well. I love that we can now begin the ‘building the coop’ project and move closer to our dream. There are just so many things to love about this simple fence.

2) I received my confirmation email for The Sun Magazine writing retreat. At the end of April, I will head to North Carolina to meet other writers, published authors, and some of the staff of The Sun (including Sy Safransky, editor and publisher of the magazine) at the gorgeous Wildacres Retreat. I am ready to expand my writing horizons and I know this retreat will help me as I grow.

3) One of the values I prize the most is authenticity. I found Tammy’s authenticity in this post an affirmation that even the most incredible, inspiring people have days when they feel crazy. I really look up to Tammy and her humility and honesty make me love her even more. Plus, her practice of posting Happy Links led me to these two incredible women who also model the kind of authenticity that makes me a fan of them for life. How can you not love and appreciate people who freely admit to friends and strangers that real life isn’t shaping up to the dream they had in mind and who are brave enough to switch life up a bit instead of letting inertia propel them along a path that isn’t their bliss? Pace and Kyeli are authentic, lovely, adventurous women and I’m glad Tammy led me to them.

When you think back on this past week, what memories make your heart smile?