November 5

What better time to resurrect the Thirty Days blog than November, the original month of gratitude?

And how better to do it in classic Amanda fashion than 5 days late?

You guys, daylight savings time is killing me this year.  Seriously.  I'm twice as tired as usual at night and yet still twice as tired in the morning, too. More and more to accomplish, less and less time.  Or less and less daylight, at any rate.

Definitely needing me some gratitude.

So here goes.  We'll just call it 20 days instead of 30, and shoot for now til Thanksgiving, sound good?

November 5

Tonight I am grateful for the blue skies and warm weather that graced the day.  Not many of these days left, I fear, so I am holding on to each one. I  am even more grateful that I got to be outside, albeit briefly, in that wonderful weather this afternoon, by virtue of running to the UPS store over lunch.  It has been such a crazy year, this is the first time I have been able to step out at lunchtime.  Need to do it more often.  I am so grateful for fresh air.
I am also grateful for Starbucks iced Americanos.  Nothing tastes more sublime on a blue-sky, fair weather day. The taste of this drink , paired with sunshine glancing off the plastic cold cup, has the power to transport me to the base of Vail mountain, on a spring break almost 9 years ago.  My first spring skiing in Colorado, my first iced Americano.  Together forever.
I am grateful that I have the memory of skiing Vail mountain.  We led a charmed life indeed, all those years ago.  I'm not sure we knew just how charmed.  But I think we did enjoy it thoroughly and I am grateful for that.
I am grateful for quiet evenings with my kids, for our local grocery store where the deli workers hand my kids a cookie while we wait, where the children know where to find everything as well as I do, where there is never a line at the checkout. Seriously.  It is a terrific grocery store.
I am grateful for leaf-finding walks with bikes and scooters and dogs, for feet and wheels swishing through leaves along the sidewalks in the gathering dark.
I am grateful for a bright, blue, full moon blazing between the trees.
I am grateful for bedtime stories and two children that love them, for my daughter's questions and my son's ability to tune out the world when he picks up a book.  I am grateful for the glimpses of myself that I see in them, for the bit of immortality that comes from the way Jack-- just like me-- compulsively reads any words he sees; from the way Ivy --just like me-- loves to turn the world into a great game of pretend.
I am grateful for graham crackers and milk at bedtime.

November 4

I am grateful for family and music tonight.  Grateful that we live so close to my mom-- grateful for her presence in the world, the simplicity of family dinner at her place every week, the gift of time she gives to Nat and I when she keeps the kids, the gift of time she gives to them.
I am grateful for the weekly walk Nat and I take in Lakewood park.  I am grateful that we went today even though it was rainy, because it always works out to be more perfect that we imagine.  Tonight-- a gray lake blending with a gray sky, a foggy city skyline int he distance, lights twinkling, smooth soft air, a happy spaniel prancing along the path.

I am grateful for my choir, for my wonderful director, for the bits of music theory he effortlessly teaches us, for the challenge of learning music and the joy of making music.  I am grateful for the friendship of Fiona, my driving buddy, for the stories she regales me with and the inspiration she provides.


November 3

November 3rd was a Monday.  the Monday after Halloween AND daylight savings time.  It was not an easy day.  Looking back, I'm having a tough time coming up with much.  I suppose that night I was grateful that the day was over.  And that my kids did well at their piano lessons, both reportedly picking things up quite well.  I am grateful for this opportunity for them to build a musical foundation.

November 2

I am grateful for IKEA, for sunny chilly driving days and consumer therapy and making a low-key weekend memorable.

November 1

There's a reason I didn't start this right away.  It's called rainy, 40 degree weather.  I don't do well with rainy, 40-degree weather.  I was kind of a grump on Saturday.

I am looking forward to letting the practice of gratitude get me through the rest of November unscathed...