Friday night grateful moment

ull week from start to finish... Got the chance to spend a few days on the other side of the state this week, which was lovely, but SO grateful to be home safe and sound, too!

Thankful for time spent in the cheerful company of my nieces. For hugs and "squeezes" and giggles and bounces. For their ability to celebrate friendships, and be resilient and joyful and embracing of change. All good things for young ladies to have a handle on in this world!

Lucy got her first pedicure! I am thankful for the amazing foot massage I got in the midst of my pedicure. Exactly what I needed. Ahhhhh. Thanks, Kim!

Sweet girly feet. Maizy just might convince me to have a flower on my big toe one of these days!

I'm thankful for peaceful solo road trips. I am not initially in love with the idea of being on the road by myself. But once I get over the concept of not being chauffeured around (yes, I've gotten a bit pampered that way these past few years...), and get out the radar detector AND hook up the iPod with the audio books, I'm a pretty happy camper. By the time I hit the ferry on Wednesday afternoon, I was in a lovely space, having pondered and debated all kinds of things with myself on the drive from Walla Walla to Seattle. The problems of the world were solved, and I enjoyed the brief ride across the water to check out Shelby and Kim's new place. Lovely.

I'm thankful for my boy. For his helpfulness, for his thoughtfulness, for his kind heart. And for our ability to IM here and there throughout the week. Thank you, technology gods!

I'm grateful for husband, and his texts, and calls and funny voice messages. I am always so glad to come home to him!

I'm grateful that school is out. I know summer is going to fly by, but that's OK.

I'm thankful for the bits of sunshine, and the promise that there's more on the way.

I'm grateful that even though there's nary an apricot on the apricot tree, there are indeed cherries ripening on the cherry tree! And that they made quite a bit of progress toward red while I was away this week.

I'm grateful for audiobooks and their ability to transport you to another place and time. Finished The Help yesterday and moved directly on to The Hour I First Believed. Very different from each other... I loved The Help, and hearing all the different voices in the book read by different narrators was really an added bonus. Jury's still out on The Hour I First Believed; seems to have promise, but kind of scattered so far. But maybe that's me, as I'm listening... entirely possible as I was driving home tonight, thinking about this and that, hopping in and out of the story... but I love how quickly the time flies, listening to stories...

And I'm thankful for old friends and spontaneous lunches. Caught up with a friend who moved back to Seattle a few years ago, on her birthday, no less. We had a lovely lunch catch-up today before I drove home.

This is also the date of my Grandpa Goerlitz's birthday; if he were still alive, today would have been his 110th birthday! Hard to believe he'll have been gone 15 years this winter. Doesn't seem possible at all. I'm grateful for the memories I have of him, though. Very thankful for those.

Happy weekend, all!