Thankfulness

I returned from my walk to Rice Village—always enjoyable but now a necessity since I’ve joined the ranks of a sedentary profession. My last full time job was tennis which provided plenty of exercise unlike my latest job--writing. There are similarities in the two: Neither pays much. I’m passionate about them both. Both require some natural talent but skill development can compensate for a deficit in talent.

I walked about seven miles today. On the first trek to Rice Village I practiced gratefulness and listed all the things I was thankful for. I thought about how blessed I am to have been able to do so many things I am passionate about. Or maybe I’m like Campbell—passionate about many things. She is so full of life. Everything is “her favorite.” She loves blue, and cats, and baby animals, and spiders, and bats. Annie, The Sound of Music, swimming, the play house, Donut, and twirly dresses. High-heeled shoes, lots of jewelry, The Wizard of Oz, and purses. Out of the clear blue, she lays her head on my shoulder and says, “I love you, Gigi.”

I feel the same way about writing. Finding exactly the right word or phrase to express a thought or feeling is like playing tennis on a golden afternoon when every ball hits the mark and my partner and I are perfectly in tune.

When Jim was in treatment in 2003, I read some book (surprise) about cancer with one excellent take-away. The author suggested that cancer patients in re-evaluating their priorities (which most do) make a list of the 5 things they love to do and five they hate doing. Jim and I found this very helpful. The idea is to eliminate or delegate the tasks you hate, leaving more time for the ones you love. I remember the lists ,and writing wasn’t even on mine.

That God opened the door to writing during the cancer journey was one of the gifts of the disease. Jim, too, found an outlet and passion in public speaking. The natural bents were there all of the time but we didn’t see them until other doors were closed.

Make your lists. Life is too short to waste time on activities you don’t enjoy. Maybe you can take over some task your spouse deplores or you might hire someone to do those chores that take a big chunk of your free time. Some of the things on your list might surprise you. Until I thought about it I didn’t realize how much pleasure working in the yard gave me.

I just wish there were more hours in the day to do all of the things I love.