Gratitude of a Sunday

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure that you are.”  Mary Jean Iron

I don’t know if I appreciate the common everyday enough.  Too often I get caught up in the irksome and the irritating- a spilled cup of coffee on the computer desk before dawn or the third, then fourth trip to the barn to treat an equine eye injury that refuses to heal, cold winds agitating a sinus infection until my teeth ache and I finish the job in a sour mood, which is fair to no one.

It’s time for me to make a list of the things that are good, because there are so many.

A phone call from my daughter.  I can remember calling my own mother at the same age but waiting until the rates were lower in the evenings.  Daytime phone calls at a quarter a minute long distance were not in our budget 25 years ago!  I’m grateful for long phone conversations without a meter running.

My garden is sprouting.  Yes, I had to blanket the broccoli and cauliflower for the third time this week but I can see little sprouts of mesclun, beets and carrots, too.  I’m glad our community has garden plots available.

I have a cat on my lap as I type.  How on earth did we get so lucky? A social, active, blue eyed Siamese cat was waiting at the Humane Society and we love Siamese cats.  Man of Action has been a delight.

We saw a blizzard in Southern Arizona this week.  I don’t like cold weather but I cannot remember ever seeing a heavy snowstorm during the day, ever.

My son is healthy and working.  And he has health care for the next 24 months under our plan.   Pre-existing conditions and all that- but for now, he’s got good medical care.  I’m glad he’s here to help around the house- and his sense of humor makes things much merrier.

Downtown Abbey on DVD.  The clothes, the house, the scandals.  And the subtitles- I’m grateful I can follow along more easily.

A bowl of kumquats.  I root pruned the little kumquat tree, fed it and put it on the porch away from the scorching sun and it has rewarded us with bowls of fruit with rinds full of sweet citrus oils and tart pulp.   Not to everyone’s taste, but the tree is hardier than the rest of the citrus trees.

I’m looking forward to warmer weather this week- and hope you have something to look forward to as well.

A chilly view from our desert yard.   The hummingbird feeders had to be placed on the patio table as the Costa’s and Anna’s hummingbirds were unable to dine as the snow continued to fall and block the openings.