A month ago I woke up at dawn. If the windows were open, the birds were already singing at full volume. This morning it’s pitch dark, and my companion, as I start my writing, is a rusty moth, batting at the window begging to come in. The coolness of the night reminds me of camping trips from my Michigan youth. Such fond memories of vacations, sleeping outside, walking to the Dairy Queen, and cleaning skillets with beach sand. Surely, I began life as a blessed child.
In no particular order, here are a few more reason, I feel blessed:
- The garden flocks are blooming. One light violet color plant, gave birth to a magenta offspring. What a gorgeous surprise.
- Four grandchildren for the weekend. Lots of noise and laughter, and a smidge of tangling, reminded me of my own siblings, and the joys of raising my own four kids. Life really is a series of circles.
- 100 years of 4-H. The grandkids never even heard of 4-H. “It’s where I learned to cook, and sew, and knit, and raise a cow, and ride a horse. 4-H is where I learned that I could do just about anything I wanted to, if I just set my mind to it and worked really hard.”
- An unexpected compliment from two co-workers. I won’t repeat it here. I already blushed beet red.
- A shopping trip with 15-year-old Mr. N and lunch at Bombay Chopsticks. We had such deep conversations about politics, the world with terrorism in it, and the long-term impact on childen’s sense of safety, mainly focused on the ten year-olds (Miss S, Mr. R1 and Mr. R2, and Miss G.)
- Mr. L’s birthday and the present that Mr. N helped me pick out for home. It was a hit. High and thank yous all around.
- A successful Lip-sense party and a genenerous donation that resulted for Habitat for Humanity.
- S’mores in the microwave. As much fun to make as roasting them on an open fire and not quite so dangerous. And a whole lot stickier.
- An abundance of lily pads in the pond and two new koi.
- A dragonfly nymph shedding her exoskeleton and a wonderful YouTube video that kept all six of us intrigues for 90 minutes.
What makes you pause and count your blessings? Large and small, I love to hear what’s on your list. You always remind me of more reasons to pause and take stock.