Friday night grateful moment

ild wind is howling, gusting around the house quite fiercely. This is *so* not how I wanted to head into the weekend, a weekend where I dream of peaceful sleep, rest, quiet--you know, the opposite of a windstorm.

But the wind is here, and I'm here, and I'm nothing if not resourceful. Earplugs at the ready, I will sleep No. Matter. What. And be grateful. Not for the wind per se, but for plenty of other things:

rununculus

A day spent with husband, just doing our thing. It was a lovely time together, especially given that it was a weekday, and hookey days are really rare for him. For me they have been much less rare, but when he'll take a day off, I jump at it, and I'm grateful for our chats and discussions throughout our time together, too.

sunflower

For morning energy, I am grateful... to get up and go, to meet each day with enthusiasm--no doubt helpfully fueled by coffee, but still, I'm moving, right? It's so amazing how our minds and bodies bounce back from fatigue. Given a bit of rest, we get up and go again. Thank goodness for that!

cherryblossoms

Spring is coming! I can feel it. The dahlia catalog has been perused, now to pare the order down. Seeds have been purchased. There's talk of rototilling on Sunday, but it will really depend on the weather between now and then. Regardless, it's warmer and warmer, and sprouts and such are appearing. Oh happy day!

daisy

The dear boy is off at a jazz festival in Idaho with his jazz band compatriots. We'll be so glad to see him tomorrow night when his bus rolls back into town. I am so grateful for his smiles and hugs and our talks. They may not always be the light-hearted chats of his tween years, but I am grateful to remember what being 15 was like (sometimes all too vividly), and also glad that I can empathize. I could not be persuaded to go back to the angst-filled teen years for ANYTHING. No thanks.

 forgetmenots

I am always so grateful when I see generosity in people. Not necessarily generosity of stuff, or money (though that's fine too!), but generosity of spirit. People who are big enough to give others props without thinking it somehow diminishes their own light. Those who regard others with an open heart, not worrying about what they will receive in return. I love those people. Those people make the world a better place.

Chief

I am SO grateful for Chief. I can't imagine what the house would be like without him right now. He is like a shadow for both husband and I, staying right beside us as we move through the house. That can be a little bit of an obstacle if you're looking to get somewhere quickly, but I can deal with it, knowing all he's been through this winter. He's seen his pack disappear, and when I took him to get his teeth cleaned this week, boy did he not want to go. Pretty unusual for our social beast, but he seemed pretty convinced that only bad things happen behind that door in the vet's office. Poor sweet thing, he did make it through OK and get the "great teeth" stamp of approval, too!

(This is where I confess how dorky I've gotten about Chief. When we were having lunch out today, I told husband I wished Chief could text, just so we could check in on him. Good grief, that's a level of doggy closeness I hadn't anticipated. I used to make fun of my friends who would leave messages on the answering machines for their dogs, but I think I'm about half a step removed from that nonsense. Seriously, wouldn't that be cool? "How's things?" "Fine, bring me back a treat." Kind of like a teenager, eh?)

bells

Color continues to make my world go round, in these early spring days when green still feels a bit sparse. Can't wait for all the colors of spring and summer in our garden; but until then, I've sprinkled some of my favorite colorful flowery finds (well, other than Chief!) throughout my grateful list, for you.

I hope your weekend brings you all the good things you need to face another week!

Peace.