My “pocket of joy” today was the red-bellied woodpecker at the bird feeder. I don’t feed the birds in the summer or early autumn because bears get into the bird seed and tear up the feeders. We had a warm autumn, and people kept reporting bear sightings, so I only recently set up my feeders. This was the first woodpecker I’ve seen since setting up the feeders.

I love the term “pocket of joy.” I first heard it on a Netflix reality show when one of the main stars, speaking of his difficult growing-up years, also spoke of the pockets of joy that sustained him through those difficult times.