Being a Libra. Fiction writing. Deadlines and homework. Being surrounded by people smarter than I am.
Bike rides to and from work and around town. Big mountain hikes. Kick-ass workouts.
My grandma’s Claddagh ring. My Welsh rock, Ghastly Grim. Ganesha. Lit candles. Card games + Scrabble + acrostics. Flower gardens. Used bookstores. Mystery novels and thriller flicks.
Dive bars + dimly lit wine bars + London pubs + Napa wineries. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Thin-crust Italian sausage pizza. Champagne + full-bodied red wine + Pauvel Kwak + mocha lattes. Tea and scones with jam and clotted cream. Homemade blueberry smoothies.
Milton and Donne, Dickens and Woolf. Cormac McCarthy, Elizabeth Bishop, and Anne Sexton. The talented writers I have the great fortune to call good friends. Writers, photographers, directors, painters, musicians–artists of all kinds–who push boundaries while still connecting with their audience.
Guatemalan children who giggle the way they won’t when they’re older.
Wanderlust (past). Chicago, NYC, San Fran, Napa, Charleston, Maine, Taos, New Orleans, Lago de Atitlan, Salta, Paris, London, Galway, Tuscany, Banff, Switzerland, Yeadon Leeds, Sevilla.
Wanderlust (future). Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan monasteries, China, Tibet, El Salvador to Columbia (by bus), India, Pakistan, Burma, Peru, Ecuador + Galápagos Islands, South Africa, Botswana, Kilimanjaro, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Bolivia, Seychelles, Ushuaia, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Washington – California (drive/rail), Alaska.
Those who get me. Those who have stood by me. Those who are respectful, open, curious, and honest. Those who step up and then do what they say they’re going to do. Those who go above and beyond.
Autumn (and, yes, being a Libra). Seeing many sides to most stories. Guts with or without the glory.
Most of all, I’m thankful for you. Yeah, you. You read these 300 words of thanks, and I’m immensely grateful.
3 Responses
I’m thankful for you, too…but you forgot Detroit on your list of Wanderlust Past. Rock on, Rock City!
Detroit is a fantastic city. And I think we’re the only ones who know it. It’s like a deserted patch of urban happiness. I was sort of shocked by how few people spent time downtown on the weekend. I sincerely hope Detroit springs back to life. I really enjoyed my time there.
Wish you had been with me the last few times we went downtown – the city was packed, full of Lions tailgaters and Kid Rock concertgoers and Tigers fans, Thanksgiving parade watchers and Detroit marathon runners and people hoping to catch a glimpse of Barack Obama, bike riders and Jazz Festival attendees and Turkey Trot racers. The downtown square, Campus Martius, is lit up for the holidays with a lovely Christmas tree & an ice skating rink – it’s just beautiful. And then there are weekends when there is just nothing, like when we were there. The city is on the rebound, but it’s going to take some time to really come back.