I’m thankful for time with my mother yesterday–and time with all three kids, and for the delicious brunch they made. So lucky in this world.

And then unexpected good weather and a chance to lop at the roses. A trip downtown to the market (traffic getting there was hairy, but once we’d parked it was great and the sun was out and we bought pea vines and scallops and a few other things).

I’m thankful for the lilacs and their reminder. Here, just one week later, they’re looking pale, ragged, beginning to brown. Pay attention to the good things, enjoy them now.

Open the door. Open my heart.

I’m thankful for poetry month and thankful for the end of poetry month.

I’m thankful for the sun and the warm weather–and that now it’s light out by 6:00 a.m. I’m thankful for the birds singing.

I’m thankful for my family.

I’m thankful for a Saturday with many things to do and nowhere I really had to be. That meant almost three hours of whacking and weeding in the yard. That meant lemon almond biscuits. That meant submissions to six contests. And kale chips.

I’m thankful for a quick wine-tasting trip with Tom–a nice day to luxuriate, good wine, no rush.

But before we left I was having one of my melancholy Sundays today–gorgeous blue skies, sunny and warm, and I’m in my own blues. Which got me thinking about the nature of gratitude. I started this gratitude journal because of my recurring Sunday blues–a way to remind myself of the many things I’m thankful for. But it’s easy to be thankful for all the good things and kind of skip over the not so good. This morning, I realized that part of gratitude is being thankful even when the good stuff isn’t write-it-down obvious. It’s out there.

This day. This life. Spring.

And I’m thankful for all the blooming–especially right now the lilacs.

Here’s a poem I wrote years ago–recalling some other lilacs even more years ago. And the photo is of that better-year bush. It’s flowering now.

The Garden of Waiting

In a land before you, I lived
beneath the gauze of hot mornings, heavy air.
Lilacs filled my open window,

their thick scent stitching sorry
with the dizzy hope that comes
from trying not to look down.

A breeze paused at the screen.
I wove words into a close hedge,
held a great space inside.

You looked through the garden of waiting,
spied me behind the hardened limbs
caught, without a language for help.

In a better year, a kinder climate,
I sent for a bare root in the mail,
wanting to share the pale cascade,

the heady smell of summer.
I dug out a space on the shadowed south side,
planted the shrub too close to a bully laurel.

Without enough sun, it grows leggy,
bears only leaves. I’ll wager on greenery,
place no faith in the absence of purple blooms.

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friends and family

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poetry–lots of poetry

What are you thankful for?

For me, it’s been an interesting week. I overslept on Monday because I forgot to set my alarm. On Wednesday I slept through my alarm. But I managed to get the Poetry Month prompts up every morning. And I’m always thankful for sleep.

I’m thankful for my morning pages–even though they’re short and I do them on the computer. They give me a chance to hash out and rehash all my doubts and insecurities, in private.

I’m thankful for the chance to read to about 50 people at a retirement home, and thankful I beat the storm on my way there. (This is what comes of being paranoid about rush hour traffic and the possibility of getting lost–it worked out.)

I’m thankful for a chance to read Wednesday as part of a Floating Bridge Press reading. I’m thankful for the press and the long, ongoing relationships they cultivate in the poet community. And I’m SO THANKFUL my mom came. What a surprise! What a treat!

I’m thankful for my mom and dad.

I’m thankful for the dinner my son made on Wednesday. Imagine coming home from a reading to a warm plate of food and a glass of wine. Again, what a treat!

I’m thankful for a fun dinner with friends on Friday night. Good food, meeting new people. Although I always say I’d like to stay on my sofa, it’s good to get out, and I’m thankful for the opportunity.

And I’m thankful for afternoon sun–after drizzle and real rain, the sun came out and felt warm. I saw the forget-me-nots beginning to bloom and the bleeding heart already bleeding. Yes, what a treat!

Open the door. Open my heart.

Thankful for sun today! What a change, and what a pleasure. Here’s what the tulips look like this week.

I scraped some of the moss off the steps (we have a lot of steps). Do I feel younger?

I’m thankful to have made it this far into poetry month, and to write few good lines. And I’m thankful for other people’s good lines!

I’m thankful for a beautiful drive Thursday up to Arlington. Another sun time. Attendance at the poetry reading was sparse (mostly the poets reading), but we pulled out all the stops for each other.

I’m thankful for all the new people I’ve been meeting and for my new job at work. I’m moving to a different team, starting tomorrow. A lot of excitement!

I’m thankful for a couple of good winery days–pouring Friday night for a great group of people and then our second release event yesterday and today. But I’m thankful I got to have the day off–and to go see Jamie race at the bicycle criterium at the top of the hill.

Open the door. Open my heart.