Thursday gratitudes. . . . . Sometimes, it seems I write the same things over again: thankful for family, home, warmth on cool days, cups of fragrant hot cinnamon spice tea. I am thankful for these things. I am thankful for the orchid blooming in my living room window, for the gift of music (being able to perform as well as listen), for the beauty of the ponds in the back of the house, for the quiet of “country living.”

I am also thankful that I still have one parent. This week, two neighbors and friends lost their fathers; one of them has lost both parents. I know that bereft feeling of losing one’s father. I am thankful, though, that I had my father for more than half my life time; I am thankful that, when he did pass away, he did so with dignity–not attached to life support or in pain; that his passing was quiet and peaceful. And I am thankful that I was there, along with the family he loved so much. I am thankful that my mother is still with us. She is the same age that Daddy was when he passed away, and Mama is still going strong.

I am also thankful to have my father-in-law nearby. Though he is visibly aging now, he is still very independent.

I am thankful for my retirement. I did not want to leave my classroom when I did, but I see the blessing in it now. I have time to do things I didn’t do before. I have time to be creative. I’ve taken up drawing once again and make a drawing a day now. It’s fun; it’s relaxing; it’s meditative. Granted, I use image sources for my “creations,” but in a sense, all artists have image sources. I haven’t tackled portrait drawing nor animals, not even still lifes. I mainly do landscapes. Maybe one day, I will do some other types. We shall see.