1. I started a new novel!
2. I was sitting in my office, drinking strong coffee with a decadent dollop of cream, feeling safe and cozy when thunder and hailstones rat-a-tatting on the roof and windows, sent my dogs into hiding, and made me turn off the computer and pay attention. The world may seem tame and predictable, those clattering hailstones said, but it isn't. Look! Listen!
3. In the afternoon, when the hail was banished and the sun came out, the dogs I went out and sat on the deck. They lounged and sprawled, thinking their dog thoughts, and I thought about my reading in Duxbury yesterday. Clare Stella and Elizabeth E. came, along with Elizabeth's fascinating 90 year old mother, Maggie Mills. Though I met them yesterday, their warmth and kindness remained with me today, as I sat out on my deck, satisfied by a good day's work. That's how friendship is, isn't it? Even days after an encounter, it's still with you. Nourishing and sustaining.
Tonight I go to bed thankful to be here on Gather. Thankful that I will get up tomorrow and let the characters I'm just beginning to get to know lead me deeper into their story. Thankful for the dogs that rest around my feet, and the family that sleeps in the rooms around me.
What about you? What fills you with gratitude?
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Comments: 50
1) My children give me fun and the knowledge that I've done one or two... ok three things right in my life! ;-)
2) My work. I have great co-workers, good people I interact with who are appreciative of my efforts for them, and the opportunity to deal with them on a daily basis. Oh yeah, and I get paid too!
3) My friends, which includes my co-workers, the people I deal with, my art colleagues, you dear people here on Gather, and Megan, Debbie, Robin and Tracey.
This is a great idea to do everyday, btw.
TK: I can see that in your smile!
Donna: You have a very blessed life!
Robin: Congrats on the sunshine and finishing your last graduate course. I've never had Tim Horton's coffee...hmm...Am I missing something?
The thing that makes me thankful is being able to make my mortagage payment on time, after a frightening time of unemployment. We recovered more quickly than we had any right to expect.
1. Despite the foul mood I was in part of yesterday, today is a new day and I feel my plain ole silly-mood self. 2. My younger daughter seems over her cold which means she can go to dance and I can go work out at the gym today. 3. My husband gave me a big smooch as he was leaving for work this morning. Always a great way to start my day!
hmmm let's see. I actually have much to be grateful for.
Rising this morning to the song of the birds.
Opening my back door and allowing the fresh Spring air carry the song throughout my house and enter my being.
Fond memories of the people who have loved me.
On the practical side (pooh) grateful to have a steady income after a financial drought.
Thank you for reminding me to be grateful.
tomi: 4 generations all living within a half-mile? Wow. That's a rarity these days. You are blessed.
Julie: It's amazing how much we can learn about a person through their list of "three things". In yours, I hear a person who gives of herself wherever she happens to be--at home, out in the world, and on-line.
donna: Have another cup of coffee, and come back later. I want to hear your three things!
tamara: Hope the writing group gives you some great feedback. I've always wanted to be part of one...
Jen: What a great list! I particularly love your #1. Isn't it amazing that we get to start over every morning?
Ron: Sounds like a very hopeful way to begin this wonderful month!
William: That's a terrific list. If everything is that good, I guess we can live with the mosquito...
Sandra: Thanks for allowing me to hear the birds outside your window, and to feel that rush of spring (whoosh!) when you opened the door! Your practical gratitude is pretty important, too!
2. I am grateful for my family.
3. I am grateful for having the ability to have another idea or thought.
Vicki: Yes, including the Cubs and Yankees (or if you're in New England, the Red Sox.)
Nancy: Thanks for the reminder. It's good to keep it in perspective...
Sheri: So many blessings--and perhaps the greatest one of all--you have the grace to appreciate them.
Slugs: Yay for an innocent man who was vindicated, and for the hay crop! And let's all pray that there will be fewer white crosses on our roads with every year.
vickey: Yes, the simple things like your blue butterfly. Right now I'm off to take a photograph of my neighbor's forsythias. (Is there such a thing as stalking the forsythias?)
1) I finished the last chapter in Lady Blues last night. When I typed "The End," that familiar nostalgic/sad feeling filled me with sadness. Although I write series, and this is the 9th Gus LeGarde book, my "featured characters" will likely not appear with great regularity, and I will miss them deeply. Among them, I will miss Kip Sterling - an octogenarian with a memory disorder who was mysteriously involved in the disappearance of Glenn Miller; Bella DuBois - Kips former lover, a nubian black woman with a bluesy voice like velvet who entertained America and the troops in WWII; Lucy Sedgewick - a gay ex-FBI agent/woodworker with a Bernese Mountain Dog named Susie, who becomes great friends with Gus and gets in on the heroics of the adventure... okay. I'll stop now. I'm grateful God gave me the ability to imagine these lovely people in my parallel universe and the ability to be sad when a great trip is over.
2) I'm sick this week with bad asthma - but I'm grateful that I could snuggle at home with my two grandsons, watching Pinocchio for the first time in a long time and just cuddling under the comforters together.
3)My peas, lettuce, beets, chard are UP and flourishing! We planted onions, potatoes, and beans this weekend.
Life is good!
If you're comfortable sharing, tell us more about the new book! Love the new icon, too. It looks like spring/summer and you look very happy!
Like Aaron says....Life is good!....and if it isn't, it's the only one we have so we might as well make it good!
1) Rain last night. We needed it.
2) My very old dog is still alive, and appreciating the warm spring day. Next week may be his last.
3) Red tulips in bloom, in a row by the fence, like a child's drawing of tulips.
Today I watched my granddaughter slide down one of those lovely blue plastic tubes at a playground for the first time. Her absolute delight was such a joy!
And the delight to come home tired, and watch a movie - in the middle of the day! without guilt. Oh joy!
The unending happiness to have a roof over my head.
Sonia: I love your philosophy!
M.M.: What a great description of red tulips. Since I love words, yours are one of the things that make me happy today.
Clare: Terrific photo. Is that Mars or Venus? In any case, thanks for sharing your good things.
Katrina: "the unending happiness to have a roof over my head." Something we don't appreciate nearly enough. Thanks for the reminder!
You are a soulful soul, that is a wonderful thing.
I read about the wonderful meeting with Clare and elizabeth e. and went to their pages....
Look forward to meeting you, soon, too Patry!!
a comment: we had hail today? Or you did, anyway.
Love that new photo you have up! Goes very nicely with your book jacket glam photo, too!
The more people from Gather I meet the more I realize what an amazing community this is. I feel so fortunate to be here, and can't wait to see you in Boston!
Pauline: Yay for sons everywhere! I have some great ones, too.
1--the barn swallows have finished their nest and it's much quieter now.
2--my younger son gave me a cuddle before he headed for school.
3--my cat has decided that next to my chair, where he can put a head up to be scratched, is the best place to sleep. :) "win-win"
Congratulations on starting the new book!
I am grateful for all of the Internet friends I have made and I am especially grateful to the Internet friend who told me about Gather, knowing that I would gain much knowledge among fellow writers.
I am grateful for the amazing kindred spirit who lives next store. We have been exchanging confidences and words of wisdom for over 30 years.
I am grateful to my husband for sticking with me through all the turmoil for over 38 years.
I am grateful to all of the past and present dogs in my life for teaching me all of the important stuff, like accepting people without judging them, savoring every moment no matter how it unfolds, chasing butterflies, rolling in the grass, and appreciating the importance of a nap when life seems overwhelming.
Janna: Barbados! Oh, how fortunate you are. I love the place, and the pace of life, and the people are wonderful, too.
Ilsa: The key words are "to open my eyes". If we do that, how can we not be filled with gratitude. Thank you for such a lovely comment.
Heather: How beautiful and true--every word of it.
Amanda: I wish I remembered to keep such a journal every day. How can your blessings do anything but multiply when you focus on everything that is beautiful and good?
Marge: It sounds as if you have a wonderful life. Thanks for sharing a little bit of it here...
gratitude-- when the computer finally boots after five hours of trying.
when the camera finally offloads at double the time of computer booting
and when I finally have a decent macro of somthing I've tried to get many many times before.
I'm not really into awrds and have no family and not much for daily survival-- so just rlieved when something finally works. When I find a nice jacket on the street that I can wear or have something small in my stomach.
Mary: I felt so fortunate to meet Clare and Elizabeth. Hope I get a chance to see them both again. I'm also impressed by your ability to find the good in your own difficult circumstances. Much love and peace to you.