Friday night grateful moment

We're in a phase (well, more precisely *I'm* in a phase) where the weeks fly by and the blog sits quiet. I make food--even shareable food, lately. I have thoughts, ideas, inspiration--some of them even worth sharing, maybe. But. Then. It doesn't happen. Life goes whirling by and I wish for more hours in the day...

The Friday habit, however, appears unbreakable. Famous last words, I know. It does seem, though, that when Friday night rolls around, wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, whatever the week has held, I'm able to pause, breathe, reflect, appreciate. And I'm grateful for that. For the habit and what it brings into my life.

This week was a wild one, with work-work and a heavy dose of volunteer work, and then leaving for a few days to visit my parents in warmth. It definitely felt like a giant zoom, whoosh, splat. Well, the splat might be a bit dramatic. We've landed in sunshine, with some peace and quiet and laughter and good food and (maybe) a bit of relaxation. Given that today held more activity than either husband or I have had in quite some time--those desk jobs, even with stand-up desks,  don't exactly provide much of a work out--we will hold out that relaxation will come tomorrow.

I'm grateful for my parents; first, that they're still on this planet, alive and healthy. I'm grateful for their spirit of adventure, for their shared aesthetic sense--not that they have the same one, but that aesthetics are important to them both, for their love for each other and their family, and for their willingness and ability to laugh!

We saw some really interesting natural beauty today (check out my Instagram feed, I'll keep posting there), lots of scrub brush and cacti and all kinds of prickly, wild things. There's definitely a beauty in the landscape around Tucson, but it's also a little ugly (to me). I'm a Pacific Northwest girl at heart, apparently. Give me forests and trees, oceans, rivers, fields and meadows... I definitely saw things today that made me stop and say, "cool, wow, different," but it all feels pretty foreign. Go figure. I am grateful for the diversity in this country, even if it pushes my comfort zone.

We have excellent house-sitting help while we're away, for which I am ever-so-grateful (I feel the need to post that for the robber-types that troll my blog, ha ha). The pups are well looked after, too. That eases my mind, even as a big winter storm is supposed to roll through. Husband said to me tonight (he knows me so well, sweet man), "I'm sorry we're going to miss snow." That made me laugh, as he said that completely for my benefit. I am the first to say that I need to see snow to really feel like I've had a winter, but now that we've had it, I've seen it, I've even skiied in it, I'm good. I was in heaven today, in shirt sleeves, wandering around in the sun, feeling my freckles pop out. (What insanity is it that still makes me believe that "just a little sun" is fine, no sunscreen for me, thanks? It's skin cancer insanity, that's what. But a little sun on my cheeks makes me happy!)

Technology always makes my grateful list, even if I don't always articulate it. Being able to connect from afar, to work or to loved ones (Seth!), makes all the difference in the world. Texts, Skype, whatever = yeah!

Tonight I will be grateful for sleep. Nothing like a bunch of activity to bring out the sleepiness in me! I'm grateful for a cozy spot to lay my head, and not too much on the agenda for tomorrow. I hope wherever you are tonight, it's cozy there too! (And not much on the agenda for tomorrow!)

Peace.