Up bright and early this morning

A haze in the sky stops me

The air quality index high today

Too high to go out

So I settle down to watch the waves

From behind the bank of windows

Wishing I could be out on the dock

In the wind

But when the wildfires come

There’s nothing you can do but stay inside

My lungs and sinuses remind me

To take special care

I can still hear the wind blowing the leaves

Still see the waves

Appreciate to my bones the wonder of this place

The magic of such quiet

The peace

And my heart overflows with thankfulness

So thankful to have been here

To have sat at the water’s edge

To have listened to the trees

To have felt the cool water on my skin

As I swam with Jonathan yesterday

I am thankful for the boat ride

We took last night

Skimming along the lake

The houses on the shore

Passing by one after another

Feeling free

I am thankful for the tiger lilies

So abundant on the hillside

They’ve already begun their decline

A fairly short season

But I got to see them in full bloom

A riot of color

A few still hanging on

Reminding me of the few days left

We have here

I am thankful

For my daughter and her sweet friends

Watching fireworks from the lake

Not too old to enjoy sparklers

Their faces alight with the twinkling lights

Full of youth and optimism

And a beauty far more than skin deep

I am thankful for my son

Taking time to fly out for a week

Sleeping late on the pull out couch

With Snickers curled up at his feet

His long lanky body so unlike the little boy he once was

But his steady, faithful service to anyone who needs anything

So like his father

I am thankful for my in-laws

For how generous they are

To let us be here

To get the cottage ready every year

For all the family members who use it

More than they are able to themselves

For their selflessness and the joy they take

In others’ joy

I am thankful for my own parents

Able to come here for a few days

Even with older knees and feet able to get down the steep hillside

To take a boat ride

My Navy dad who never served on a ship

Enjoying the boat as much as I do

His smile contagious

I am thankful for work

For being able to do lesson plans and work on photos

In a room with a view

For sweet dinners out with my husband in Geneva

For his masterful cooking

For doing little things to clean the cottage

Doing the dishes

Cleaning the carpets

Leaving it better than we found it

I am thankful for the fresh smell

Of sheets dried outside on a laundry line

For falling into bed tired

Sinking into soft sheets at night

The cool breeze of the air conditioner

The blessing of a full night’s sleep

I am thankful for the things I often take for granted

For the very air we breathe

That most of the time it is clear

Most days the wildfires do not keep me inside

And when they do come

As wildfires will always come into our lives

In one form or another

They make me that much more grateful

For the sweetness of the air

For life and health and a mind to think with

Lungs to breathe with

Hands to serve with

A heart to rejoice with

When the air is clear again

I will appreciate it all the more

Stepping back as I do now

To look at the world through windows

To savor all the things I have to be thankful for

Things that last

And those that are merely passing

So much more is merely passing

Than we realize

Sometimes the most beautiful things

Are the things that are seasonal

The things that come and are gone

The blush of youth

The tiny delicate blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace

The morning glories blooming at the water’s edge

The summer wind blowing through the leaves of the cottonwood tree

We need not lament their loss

We can take delight in the fact that they were

And that we got to see them

To breathe them in

Even if only for a moment