I had been challenging myself, after a lifetime of writing and re-writing to-do lists, to put that aside, and be more spontaneous…..but realize it is too easy for me to simply be lazy when I have basic chores done. I restarted the LIST habit recently, and have tried to approach it in a different way, ending the day with gratitude for what is DONE rather than disappointment at what is left over. Today I have a long list of “things to do,” so this question at first sparked the thought, “I have no time for creativity today.” Then I read over my list, and recognize that all the things I want to accomplish are ways of showing love! So I will add some singing and dancing and remind myself to be grateful for my family, friends and wider community….and all the earth!….while I make phone calls, write notes, prepare a batch of rhubarb compote, and complete an on-line training. Thank you for inviting me to this dance of love and life.

This morning I am grateful to wake up on a visit to my son and his family in Southern California, where we look at planets and the moon through a telescope in the backyard. Last week, while I accompanied my oldest granddaughter to a special camp back east, there rest of her family camped out to get a wonderful view of the Perseids. Granddaughter and I ended our travels with a visit to Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh, and also visits to a constellation of relatives she’d never met, and whom I hadn’t seen in more than 50 years. Awareness of all this “stellar” gratitude is particularly timely today, as it is the anniversary of the Great American Eclipse of 2017, which we enjoyed at my mother’s home in Rigby, Idaho.

Lovely Mary Jane, keep on with the acts of KINDNESS. They are HUGE. As the holidays approach, I remember standing in line for an hour or so, or maybe it just seemed that long, at the local PO, to mail 3 family parcels. It was the last day for them to be likely to get there; at the time I had a demanding job, two young children, and a depressed-beyond-helpfulness husband. I finally got up to counter, put down my parcels, and reached for my wallet…..and I had forgotten it, somehow. By the time I went home and got it, the PO would have closed. But not wanting to add drama, I quietly stated my dilemma and started to gather up the parcels. The person behind me in line stepped right up (this was pre-covid, when that was OK!), pulled out her wallet, and said to the clerk, “Go ahead, I’ll pay.” Of course she declined, with a little smile, to give me any information to enable me to repay her. So I try to pay it forward, as she did. As for donating “a little,” my philosophy on that is, if everyone gave A LITTLE, there would be A LOT! Loaves and fishes! I have deep sympathy for your chronic pain…..mine has been at bay lately, between a total hip replacement in 2017, and a steady practice of Tai Chi for Arthritis since then…….but I won’t be surprised if the other hip goes, or something else, as my mother has had debilitating arthritis, and I worked as a letter carrier, which is pretty demanding physically. Thank God I am retired now……but that is just one small piece of the pie for which I thank God! Peace and comfort to you, dear Mary Jane!

Mandy, you sound like you might be one of MY neighbors, though there are none named “Mandy.” Yesterday I was filled with joy and gratitude on hearing a single dry leaf, still attached to the branch, shaking in the breeze; and the very soft “plops” of bits of snow falling off branches to the ground. This morning I enjoyed a wonderful zoom tai chi session. For tomorrow, I look forward to a choice of zoom masses – my local parish here in Alaska (Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Eagle River), or the Byzantine Catholic church I grew up in in Pittsburgh, or a Benedictine Monastery in Snowmass, CO….. all different, and all the same… for the Feast of Christ the King. Abundance? Yes, got it!