Thankful Thursday (on Friday)
I am thankful, I am.
But also quiet and reclusive. Show up, I'm told. Be present. So, here, with a belated Thankful Thursday. I humbly offer a few people / places / things I am grateful for this week:
Butter toffee peanuts
• My go-to treat, second only to tapioca.
The enthusiasm of others
• Thanks to gentle encouragement, I am back in the throes of organizing Off the Page, an annual celebration of poetry & prose. This is the 5th year, and despite its success — drawing audiences of 30 to 50 each year, in a town of just 600 people — I was about to give it up. I was tired and mopey. Orchestrating the event seemed too much work for too little reward. But just one person, who was interested and eager, changed my mind and put pep in my step. It's a cliche, but really, for the first time I actually believe this platitude: One person can make a difference.
• A friend has written a novel. It's the kind of really good book that left me honored to be among the first to read it. And, the author asked if she could include one of my poems. Her enthusiasm fueled my enthusiasm. (I'll share more about this touching novel as it gets closer to publication.)
Perseverance
• The more I acknowledge gratitude, the more grateful I feel. That's the beauty of Thankful Thursday. When you name your gratitude, you realize how much more there is to name. I've been reluctant to show up for Thankful Thursday (hence the day late). While I'm an encourager of others, lately my cheers have lost their buoyant tune as I have retreated into winter's matte gray. But perseverance pays, it seems, as I am here and feeling more thankful than when I arrived!
So, how about you? Are you feeling thankful today?
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 10:13AM
Reader Comments (7)
I am thankful that you told me about butter toffee peanuts. I plan to seek them out forthwith.
Good luck on the big event. Sounds delightful!
I don't know what I'd do without your Thankful Thursdays -- you help me find my own thankfulness on those days when it is sorely lacking.
You ARE my inspiration!
Sandy - You'll LOVE butter toffee peanuts.
And, if you're on the West Coast on April 1st, I'd love to see you at Off the Page! (A real longshot, I know).
Thanks, as always, for stopping by the blog.
Auburn,
Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement!
xo
I am so thankful to find you...that you take the time and energy to maintain a blog! It's lonesome out here with the wind howling around the corners and the snowdrifts refreezing into ice castles. When I come across a blog of a creative person... the delight dances across my heart and something inside of me sings.
In gratitude, Merrill
Merrill Ann -
How nice of you to read and respond! Thank you so much for your lovely words. It does, indeed, get stormy in this dark. Thanks for lightening my day.
Hi, drew, We all go through the dark times...it's nice to hear a song or two along the dark path... It's especially wonderful when there's a reply! Just keep on singing.
Merrill