a day of giving thanks

Happy thanksgiving to each of you who have stopped by or asked for this to be delivered to your inbox

I am in a really good space, in spite of my difficulties, profoundly grateful

My annual tradition has been to take a part of a day to consciously list the things that I am grateful for... it is an awesome ritual to acknowledge my story and my gifts...  and so I share my list:

• my parents -- what a lucky child i was.  there are a collection of people who believe that we make a birth contract (and choose the family we're born into).  i haven't totally drank that cool aid, but if it was true i would feel more intensely blessed than i already am!! LOL
• my friends -- what a lucky human i am!!! a wide and eccentric collection of people i consider "my tribe" -- they are thrilled to hear from me, and i am thrilled to have a chance to talk to them... loving the sharing of both our joys and our sorrows... it seems that we can have shared passions of books or sewing or photography or cooking or the mountains or the ocean... 
• the parts of my body that work -- yes, there are aspects of my physicality that seem "broken" or "ill", but rather than focus on that i want to celebrate all the miracles of the parts that continue to work in simple humility and efficiency... WOOT!!
• employment -- work has been challenging and enjoyable and giving more financial breathing room, and so i can smile about that -- even if there are difficult moments in that journey as well
• fabric and sewing and quilting -- having a quilt guild and friends that have great talent and joy in a shared passion brings such happy things
• living space -- yes, i want to move, and in that longing for a-little-house-and-a-garden i choose to also consciously remember that it is a great thing that i have a home and a place to sew

My friend David picked a flower for me, based on my joy...