It's Been a Little While.

So, i think i'll rip off an idea from Melissa McCue and share a list of things from the Thanksgiving weekend i'm grateful for:

Family so understanding of my inability to be in two places at the same time. Pumpkin pie. Being considered "part of the family" in so many families. Apple pie. The fact that Thanksgiving dinner is the easiest meal in America to eat vegetarian. Maine. The subtle colors of the Maine sky. Sheepies and their amusing bleats. The ocean. The blessings of having grown up at the edge of a continent where the sky, the earth, and the ocean all meet. Amazing friends. Amazing food. Great coffee. The fact that i can never go to the Second Read without seeing people i know and need to hug. Long walks in the country. Warm coats. Leashes so i can take doggies on walkies with me. The new Terry Pratchett book Wintersmith. Cuddling with daN. Knitting. Treadmills. Stef's chocolate meltaways. Cranberry sauce. Green bean casserole. A slightly smaller and more intimate Friendsgiving (37 this year instead of 52). The artistic talent of my grandmother Norene Bradford, and the blessings that have passed that on to my mother, my aunt, and myself. Places to sleep when we go to Maine. The bed that daN and i have waiting hear for us when we get home. Good suitcases. Humungus LLBean canvas bags. Getting to watch other humans enjoying moving their bodies around and doing yoga. Knowing that they credit me with getting them into it. Self indulgence. Self control. Zantac 75. Laptop computers. Richard Cheese. Water. Warmth. Philodendrons, Geraniums, Bamboo, Spider, Jade, and other plants that don't require water every day. Yoga mats. History. Comfort. Loving and being loved.

I had a wonderful time, and i'm not sure how to encapsulate it, but a general list of half-poetry-half-prose things from the weekend to be thankful for just about does it.

There were only two down-sides -- one being woken up in the middle of the night at one of the houses we were staying at by a screeching mouse staring at us from the bureau three feet from my head. It was smoking a cigarette and telling us to get the fuck out of its room or it would feed us to the fishes. The only other thing was the indigestion + car sickness that ='d pulling over in Brunswick to find a nice clean place to be sick in. And then the NH liquor store was out of Bailey's. Can you believe it.

Not bad though. Even full sentences of the few draw-backs cannot even begin to compare to the amount of sheer love that i bathed in all weekend. I am truly grateful.