Sincerest apologies for limiting my blogging to weekly gratitude posts. In addition to all the end-of-school-year activities that make this such a busy time, I’ve been reading and researching for an interesting potential project on the topic of…drumroll please…gratitude! In my reading, I came across a great French proverb: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” Doesn’t that capture it so eloquently?
I’m actually grateful to have my weekly journal here to keep me blogging regularly. Here’s are my “memories of the heart” this week:
>> Spending Memorial Day weekend with my family at the beach where we got to do all the traditions we typically do to kick off summer, despite the cold, rainy weather. We have certain rituals (surprise, surprise, most of them revolve around food!) like stopping at the beach as we roll into town before we even go to our house, dialing furiously at 4:15 pm for same-day dinner reservations at Dave’s Grill in Montauk, setting up the outdoor furniture, getting hanging pots of flowers for the deck, picking up fresh chickens from Iacono Farm and wicked chocolate chip cookie blobs from Lavain Bakery, and visiting Tracey for an assortment of cheese and charcuterie at Cavaniola’s in Sag Harbor. Best of all, we were all together, with an added bonus of a read-aloud of Valerie Harper’s memoir, I, Rhoda. Special time!
>> Laughing tears on the phone with my dad and my sister. Whatever that happy chemical is—endorphins, dopamine, I dunno—it’s the best!
>> Long phone conversations on the phone with some of my dearest girlfriends, and breakfast smoothies in my very own kitchen with one of my favorite boyfriends who came to stay with us overnight.
>> The tremendous opportunities that my boys have been given at their high school and the recognition they’ve received for the work they’ve done. It’s a continually amazing place, and I’m so grateful we chose to move to this community to educate our kids. Their daily activities and interactions are definitely shaping their futures!
>> A glowing orange sunrise through my bedroom window. Breathtaking.
What are you feeling grateful for this week?