Chugging along...

I've been chugging along lately. Working on a lot of different projects has kept me sometimes food blogging, but mostly piling up recipes and restaurants to blog about. Spending time with friends when I'm not volunteering, educating, programming, writing the book and actually, you know, working at my fulltime job has been number one priority followed by time for yoga and general relaxation and exercise.

But this morning I woke up feeling an endless stream of gratitude. First, following an extremely productive and meaningful workday where students and faculty are back on campus and purpose is reenergized if not newly defined, I spent dinner with a friend in from Israel (and our ragtag group). Then more gratitude that when I got home and got a call, "I'm headed to your supermarket, wanna meet me?" When else in my life am I going to have 9:30pm grocery shopping dates (that aren't for children's tylenol emergencies)?

When else am I going to be able to come home, realize the book I need for the educational project I'm working on actually belongs to my friend and neighbor and be able to stop by and just pick it up? No schedule, just a quick (and really appreciative!) text message? When am I going to also find time to catch up with a friend who recently moved cross country or, over a series of emails, discover that I'm seeing a dear friend 4 days in a row (it's like we're practically going on vacation together!) or, best of all, when am I going to settle in from all of that to then develop the educational material and explore the possibilities of challenging traditional understanding of relationships we develop with God during this holiday season.

Mostly, the quiet force behind last night being so jam packed is not an endless source of energy. That seems to have fizzled a little post-30th (maybe 31st?) birthday. It's more likely a side effect of the short term medication I'm on after having bug bites the size of my the island on which I live. Nonetheless, feeling an obligation to take advantage of what will be a very short-lived burst of energy, I committed myself whole heartedly to every encounter yesterday and will again today, in the hopes that gratitude can continue to flow through me, warm me, and help prepare me for the coming weeks of reflection, of direction and of rededicating myself to everything that's kept me chugging along this year.

But I'm also feeling inspired, and forward movement is forward movement, and here's to a year where that just keeps happening.