Today I'm Grateful For . . .

Today I'm grateful for . . .

• Being able to watch a gorgeous sunset over the western sky. The sky turned a number of shades of red and purple and I was reminded of the children's book about Grandpa Bunny Bunny painting the sky a multitude of colors at night. It seems to me the sunsets have been more spectacular than usual over the last few weeks, but I could be wrong.
• The lawnmower Dave bought me last spring. At the time, I wasn't thrilled. I have a long (and proud) history of avoiding sweat and dirt and bugs, so mowing the lawn wasn't high on my "things to do before I'm 40 list." But because Dave bought me the lawnmower and made me mow the lawn myself, I started to take pride in how my yard looked. The result of that came about a month ago when I had the brilliant idea to plant a garden this year. So Dave, with his endless patience, taught me how to cut the hedges and pull weeds. Finally, the garden was ready to be planted.
• And so I'm also grateful for the planting I did and the gorgeous flowers I have (and tomatoes too!) that I can water every morning and night. I had no idea how much peace and pleasure I would get from standing in the backyard watering the flowers and watching them grow.
• Finally, I'm grateful for my brother, Dave. I am truly blessed that in spite of the rough start we had 32 years ago and all the fighting we did as kids, today he is one of my most trusted confidants. I love having him live in Chicago and knowing that I can pick up the phone and call him anytime or that we can get together with ease. He makes me do things I wouldn't do otherwise. And no matter what I say at the time to the contrary, I love it.