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.
