’m writing this while sitting at the ferry terminal in Seattle, waiting to go across the ocean to Bainbridge Island. I love the ferries, even though on this particular evening we seem to have missed a ferry by about 10-15 minutes and thus will be sitting and watching other people leave and waiting for our ferry IN AN HOUR. Obviously I have some work to do to become a ferry person… a relaxed and mellow ferry-riding person…

I’m grateful that even though we’re sitting and waiting for the ferry, we’re sitting and waiting for the ferry. That means we’re a) not at home, and b) on vacation. And also, I’m grateful that the three of us are together. How joyful is that? Pretty dang joyful, I tell you. Singing songs from The Sound of Music joyful. Yes, you heard right.

I’m grateful for sunshine, even though it’s shining through a dirty windshield.

I’m grateful for people who are willing to say “Yes, we can get this done.” Even if it’s a steep request. And then, they figure out how to get it done. That’s rare, and I am so grateful when I do encounter that attitude.

My friend Jen got word today that she has more four more chemo treatments to go. What? Her last one was supposed to be in October. What does this mean? I don’t know, but I’m annoyed right now that someone somewhere (OK, an oncologist, but still) thinks she needs them and that she’s been blindsided by this. If I have to look for the silver lining, which you know, I do, I'm grateful that chemo exists and that she’s getting that tumor obliterated. But for a little while today, I was steamed.

I’m grateful for refrigerators. And ovens, even stovetops... especially dishwashers! I am so glad I don’t live in a time of ice houses (or simply no refrigeration) and wood stoves or (help me) open fires. I like the comforts of my kitchen very much.

I’m grateful to live in a time when my diet can be varied and adventurous, and while I do try and eat as local as possible, if I want an avocado or figs or grapefruits (things that simply don’t grow in my region, ever), I can find them easily.

I’m grateful for empathy. Sometimes I really hate the sensation of being able to feel someone else’s pain, but then I think that I’m glad I have that, because NOT having it would be a lot worse.

I’m grateful to live in the country, where if I choose (and I DO) to sing while mowing my lawn, it goes mostly unheard.

I’m grateful that the garden is still producing, even though the nights are so cool…

I’m grateful for fall weather and hopeful that it will go on like this for a few more weeks.

I’m grateful that my knees are feeling stronger, and that husband has an old weight set that is helping in that process. It reminds me that I should be using that contraption more often!

I’m grateful for my wordy girls and our casual but determined commitment to writing more consistently.

I saw this quote this week and it kind of summed up the past couple of weeks around here:
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” - Siddhārtha Gautama

Yep, that kind of says it. Carry on. Love each other. Or as Garrison Keillor likes to say, “Do good work, stay in touch.”