See numbers 8 and 11 below.

Time to tell my journal about things that make me happy.  Today’s the 14th of the month, and here are 14 things that push my gratitude button. (Sappy, I know, but the exercise of gratitude always brings health.)

1. Text messages and phone calls from my kids when they need an encouraging word, and I am able to provide it.  Sometimes the ingredients of hope are more ordinary than heroic.
2. The ordinary.
3. Chilly gray mornings made special with a warm blanket and a cup of hot coffee.
4. Connections far and near, large and “small,” that add value to my human experience, and give me hope for tomorrow.
5. A walk in the park.
6. Seeing my proposed dissertation-research develop and take shape.
7. My son Rogers’ response when someone says, “Bless your heart.”  He says, “Bless yours, too.”
8. Nurturing.  Whether it be a friendship, a child’s wellness and development, a professional relationship, or a tomato plant—I find the act of nurturing to be one of the greatest manifestations of our spiritual essence within this human experience.
9. Spellchecl. (That’s a joke.)
10. Packing a big bag of things for my daughter Dorah for when she arrives for her summer fellowship here at the University of San Diego.
11. My little potted kumquat tree on my terrace.
12. The word “kumquat.”
13. Finding creative ways to work around the fact that the ‘s’ button on my phone isn’t working. My text mezzagez have lotz of ‘z’z.
14. Being able to try again.