May 1, 2023: I am grateful my eyes can see and my feet can take me places I want to go. (how’s that?)

May 8, 2023: I am grateful I can spend time visiting with my dad during this season of his life. Pearl is also grateful to sit on his lap.

May 10, 2023: I am grateful for Pearl. She keeps me on my toes. When she sleeps on the bed with me, I am comforted. I feel very lonely when she decides to sleep in her own bed.

May 11, 2023: I am grateful for Crystal Lake Park and the native plants that grow there– Fringe Cup, Native Plum, Trillium, Solomon’s Seal, Hawthorn.

May 12, 2023: I am grateful for old friends and neighbors who stay in touch with me and who invite me to the Uke Cabaret.

May 13, 2023: I am grateful for honest friends who acknowledge when things are painful and hard to understand.

May 15, 2023: I am grateful for challenges in life because it means I am continuing to grow. I am grateful for parents who wanted to help others and who taught me to care for others.

May 17, 2023: I am grateful that I grew up camping–Metolious, Beverly Beach, Seal Rock, Drift Creek. It’s not easy to get reservations these days and it seems so complicated. I am truly grateful for all the times I’ve had the chance to wake up in the cool, clean air and sleep in the comforting nest of a sleeping bag.

May 19, 2023: I am grateful for friends who share meals with me. Also, for friends who drive me through traffic jams without getting aggravated.

May 20, 2023: I am grateful for cool water on a hot day–the river and the misters at a friend’s yard in the evening.

May 26, 2023: I am grateful that I have learned I have no control over many, many things in this life–but that I can control or direct more than I think I can.

May 27, 2023: I am grateful for music–harmonicas, guitars and washboards; singing swine; dancing uninhibitedly with children.

May 30, 2023: I am grateful for the person who donated three pair of FLAX pants in my size to the Humane Society Thrift Store. I really love them.