Ross Gay, in The Book of Delights, distinguishes delights from joys and mostly only writes about delights in his book. I, on the other hand, will include joys in my Blog of Delights.

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My son Andrew’s partner, Alex, is a pure joy. I thought about that recently — I knew I was going to write a post about her on her birthday (today!) but also thought that delight is not enough of a description. She’s a joy.

I think that the first time I met Alex, she was a guest for dinner. Also at the table were my daughter, Clare, and her friend, Sara. Andrew and Dean were there of course, too. At one point during dinner someone started barking. Maybe Clare or Sara, then I chimed in, then Dean, then Andrew and Alex. I knew that day that Alex was one of us.

There is a lot to like about Alex — she’s smart, funny, strong, loyal. She makes delicious and beautiful cakes. She and Andrew seem to be a good match. She’s really easy to get along with. She’s a patient teacher.

But one thing I like most about Alex is a little hard to describe. She is not afraid to state her opinion. She does not back down when someone suggests she might be wrong. That is a trait I wish I had and I admire it in her.

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Other joys today include:

• Hanging out in Alexandria with Rosanne — we spent a couple hours talking on the waterfront, then spent another couple hours talking at her house. While it wasn’t exactly like we’d not seen each other for over 20 years, it felt very comfortable being with her again. Hopefully we will do it again.
• The cardinal climber has a bud! Finally!