Friday, August 31, 2012

Gratitude

The sky that twinkles. The bite of fall in the air. The people who read, encourage, comment. The way my transplanted hydrangea has shot out new leaves all over the place. The smell of little sweaty feet. The smell of yeast bread rising. The Phillies shirt from a friend that wears like a hug. The wonders of the internet, text-messaging, telephones and easy communication. The kind of difficult communication that makes us stop and think and wonder how we can do better. The kind of silent communication that comes in hugs and glances and a casual patting of my arm or playing with my hair. The health of my family. The answering of prayers. The spaces of light and openness. The consolation of friends. The common experience. The history of a love. The funny things you did when you were younger that make you giggle today when you need to remember that things are fun. The people who will call you and remind you of those things. The buoyancy of life. The hope. The faith. The possibilities. The small excitements that add up to general joy. The pain. The defeat. The opportunity to get up again. The love. Definitely the love. In all of this, love.

Please add more of your own. It will be a river. It has nothing to do with page views, number of comments, good writing, right or wrong, personal or universal. This is a tribute. To life, to gratitude, to connection. Deepest gratitude to Tara who reminded me today of why I really keep blogging.

11 comments:

  1. 3-day weekends stretched out before me. Foot rubs given and received. Sweet, sad smiles. Laughter (oh the laughter!).

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  2. A tiny black chicken sits docile and cooing in my seven year-old's lap while he sings her a lullabye. What a rare privilege, to sit among animals and be trusted, to understand, through layers of garbled evolution, the needs of a chicken's heart.

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    1. I particularly appreciate the fact that Isaac gave me a miss here in the Yucatan, as did Kirk and Leslie. I saw a flock of wild parrots the other day. They cuddle together two by two. some hang upside down on the power cables. the flamingos go by in long morse code lines and soon the northern birds will show up for their winter stays.

      i appreciate deet. a hat and the freshness of the fruit.

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    2. "The needs of a chicken's heart," aww that is beautiful.

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  3. Having my son home from college for the weekend. Thunderstorms that rumble over my house. A day that feels like fall. A gentle reminder to be thankful.

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  4. For health, for friends, for the internet, blogs and blogging communities, for opportunities, for freedom, for abilities, for hope, for diversity and debates, for too much to read, too much to learn, for silence, for speech, for breathing and smelling and tasting and seeing and walking, for tight hugs, for optimism, for those that insist the 80's pop culture be engrained into my brain, for fuzzy socks and mismatched sheets, oh for everything.

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  5. For sunshine and old pick up trucks, iced mocha's and a shared muffin, free popcorn at the hardware store, daughters who make oatmeal raisin cookies, sons who sweetly hug, for dogs who brave hammocks just to sit with me, sisters who text garage sale sightings, and Jason Segel for bringing back The Muppets.

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  6. For babies that are no longer babies, for carpet to sink your toes into, for exhausted satisfaction you get when you finally achieve something and for audience participation.

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  7. The painting that makes me cry - and I can't even know why I am crying. I just am.

    The words exchanged via silly text that make me feel alive.

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  8. For ridiculous cats who spoon in their sleep, for Hubs who reorganized the garage in preparation for the fancy car he still thinks he wants to buy, for friends whose faces I've never seen in 3D but I think of as friends anyway, for lazy summer days, long weekends with friends, a good book, and a chunk of solitude to cap it all off.

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  9. For mostly happy, mostly healthy, mostly adult children. For mostly happy, mostly healthy adult relationships. For turns of phrase that are a revelation. For bloggy friends who forgive my sporadic comings and goings...

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Thanks for reading and taking the time to say hello!