Counting My Blessings - for a change!

Blesséd am I, my dearest Sophia.

I have enjoyed an extraordinarily wonderful life. I have never known a day of hunger, despair, or grief. Never. Not one. I have always had what I needed and more. I have always had good health and continue to do so at 58 years of age. I have had the privilege of living in incredibly beautiful places from the palisades of Santa Monica to the mountain rimmed plains of Colorado to the green forests of Virginia to the quaint towns of Germany to the sugar white sands of the Gulf of Mexico. I have had wonderful friends and wonderful family. I like who I am. I like my husband and the relationship we have developed over the years. I like my children and their spouses. Liking is more difficult than loving. Loving comes with the territory. Liking is finding common ground and mutual respect.

As I sit in my easy chair typing on my laptop, I watch the sun rise over the intracoastal. The fronds of a palm tree flicker with the orange light of dawn, looking so much like fire that I cross the room for a closer look. My tall, strong husband and our next-door neighbor cast their fishing lines from a dock across the way. Boats glide silently by, leaving dark streamers in the glittering waters of early morning. Herons and pelicans dip lazily on invisible currents of air. The rapidly changing light plays a tune of blues across sky and water. The golden hues of morning mellow the greens of scrub and palm. There is a sliver of white on the horizon that is the sands of our island. There is a forest of pine silhouettes that is the state park. It is the beginning of a new day.

What I make of this day is up to me and me alone. I am the star of my life and loving every minute.