Gratitude

I'm grateful when I wake up in the morning to the cat at my feet, my husband at my side, and birds singing out doors. I'm grateful for the green wall of leaves that surrounds our house this first Spring at Tam Lin, with the sunlight shining through.
I'm grateful for my warm feet on the cold floor, for steel-cut oats and tea for breakfast. I'm grateful for the warm sudsy dish water on my hands, and the hum of the washing machine in the basement. I'm grateful for the baby garden that I'm about to water, and for the second cup of tea I'm about to enjoy.

I'm grateful for the amazing gift of this true friend, this soul mate, this husband of mine who is my companion, my help meet, my best friend, who makes me think, laugh, listen, grow, and smile every minute of every day.

I'm grateful for this community, the friends that have been here all along and the new friendships forming. I'm grateful for the health and strength of my mother and her partner, who are glad to accept a spontaneous invitation and show up for tea (and then supper) an hour later.
I'm grateful for long-planned dances at the Town Hall, and spontaneous house dances planned in a matter of days.

I'm grateful for my own health, and that of my husband, for his hearing aids, my limbs that remind me to keep stretching them daily. I'm grateful for my grown-up children, for their maturity, kindness, and affection.

I'm grateful for this house, that I've longed for for 50 years and now have. I'm grateful for food on the table, most of the bills paid most of the time, and the gift of time. I'm grateful for the jobs that brought me here, the gift of self-discipline and a sense of duty that keeps me from sinking into a total couch-potato.

I'm grateful beyond measure for the music in my life- singing, instruments, dance, recordings, memories. I'm grateful for Robert J. Lurtsema, Sandy and Caroline Paton, John and Carol Langstaff, my parents, and so many others who showed me what music can be. I'm grateful for Animaterra, the folks in Nelson, my dear husband Hunt, and so many others who show me what music can be.

There's oil in the Gulf of Mexico, there's famine in Africa, there's war everywhere, my muscles ache, our bank account is diminished, I don't have health insurance, we have friends and neighbors dying at an alarming rate- but I focus on the joy and abundance of every day. I don't ignore the hard facts, but I try to have perspective and offer amazed and abounding gratitude for each and every gift, including the AFGEs (Another Freaking Growth Experience) that come each day.

I tried all through their growing years to teach my children about having "an attitude of gratitude". It's only truly sinking into my being now.