Thanksgiving Benediction

Lying under the covers yesterday, the house quiet as a church (everyone had gone to a friend's to celebrate while I stayed home combating the flu), I silently expressed gratitude for all the usual things--my loved ones, my health (despite my current setback, the past two or three years have been particularly healthy ones for me), my work and so forth.

Then perhaps because I was alone, I began to reflect on some of the solitary pleasures that regularly buoy my spirit, feeling thankful for those as well.

I thought about how much I love dancing alone in the dark late at night to James Taylor songs when my husband is away on business; or lying on my living room couch on a winter afternoon, warming myself in the sun as I read; or getting my first whiff of spring as the loamy Connecticut soil begins to thaw; or even just watching the clouds roll in before a storm. (The photo above was taken at the beach near my house right before I became ill.) I even thought about how much I love the ticking of the clocks in my house, the way they chime at different moments like a syncopated song.

I hope that you, too, had a lovely Thanksgiving.