uni-ball Signo Micro 207, my new favorite pen
hearing my sister's laugh over the phone, from the other side of the country
giving away half the clothes in my closet
re-reading books, fresh the second time around, due to my not-so-sharp memory
morning yoga on Mondays and Fridays, with dear friends and an inspired teacher
crocheting many big beautiful colorful afghan blankets
veggie/fruit smoothies for breakfast each day; no two exactly alike
new hairstyle
discovering my library card is valid until 2050
fishing off the Farmers' Market dock
the Yule Log on channel 501
snow ho ho
Shane turning into a zombie and getting shot in the head by Carl(on the TV show "Walking Dead")
getting married
sitting down to meditate in a field and seeing a dear old auntie as soon as I closed my eyes
handing in my resignation to an astonished boss
scaling a rope wall with 100 other muddy women during an obstacle race to benefit breast cancer research
stopping during a run to splash water on my face in a stream and being greeted by 2 frogs under a rock
my 6-year-old son snuggled on my lap, reading me a book for the first time
listening to one amazing/powerful/funny/sad/magical story after another on the night that the angels visited Zee’s Writing Studio
watching the blue moon rise over the Atlantic Ocean and noticing it was kind of pink
going up a hill to look for a lost hammer, and instead encountering a woodpecker who was . . . hammering
stopping by the hillside yard of my grandmother, completely on a whim, just as a rainbow appeared ahead of a summer shower and reached out in front of my car
making good and unexpected connections with people through cyberspace
successfully defending my doctoral course work
finally getting a breast reduction when absolutely no one in my life supported my decision
any moments without pain
watching from a rooftop garden as the sun set over San Miguel
reading a novel with my dog, Poochini, on my lap
seeing a cross-dressing version of Midsummer Night’s Dream
watching my kids get off the ferry in Provincetown
70-year-old Judy Collins, knocking it out of the park
good literary times with authors Ira Wood and Alice Mattison
walking hand in hand with my 3-year-old granddaughter, to see the chickens at the end of the road, where she did her little chicken dance before we turned back to go home
completing 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles with my 16-year-old granddaughter
hanging my art show, then standing back and seeing all that I've actually accomplished
writing a truly good sentence
digging in the dirt and finding perfectly round spider eggs, rusted metal bottle caps, and buried nuts the squirrels forgot
waking up and knowing that Barak Obama is still our president
Ray Davies in performance, and Mary Chapin Carpenter, too
standing on the quiet smooth rocks on the coast of Maine, overlooking a vast, busy noisy ocean
the western sky in late afternoon — white clouds turning shades of orange and pink, highlighted by patches of blue
a big dish of black cherry ice cream from Purity
onions frying: a smell that delights me year after year
the arrival of boxes and bags of new plants and shrubs, waiting to be planted
rose-breasted grosbeaks and the indigo bunting pair, arriving five days earlier than usual
a friend from high school, who I hadn't seen in years, knocking at my front door
my husband's presence, almost all the time
Downton Abbey ten-hour marathon
the New York Knicks
mediation for 20 minutes, once
gaining wisdom; gaining humility
a full year of health for my cats
almost winning the lottery (and planning how to spend the money we almost won)
buying all types of stationary supplies: pens, pencils, paper, 3-ring binders, etc.
my mother's new knees
ending a bad marriage, with no regrets
finding a beautiful home to rent with great light and plenty of space
grateful to be alive after a car accident
getting a great job after not having worked in a dozen years
the birth of a puppy, who will soon come to live with us
making a wonderful new friend
Daiya cheese, a vegan cheese that tastes good
Mapp and Lucia, the funniest BritCom I've ever seen
morning kisses from the dog
realizing I did want to get remarried, and then getting remarried
my son dressing himself in an all-velour outfit
dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt
Leonard Cohen
kale, right from the garden
starting Middle School, making many more friends, and keeping up with my homework
realizing that people are nicer than I sometimes give them credit for
my awesome teachers
the world did not end
seeing the image of the parrot I painted, featured on the PaintedParrot blog
moving into our best home ever
knee replacement a resounding success and my quality of life is vastly improved
knowing that the family is well and settled in their adventures, every one
my cat's incredible dexterity
marzipan
crossing the shaky plank bridge over Lava Canyon near Mount St. Helens; jumping up and down so it jiggled and scared the wits out of my husband
seeing my granddaughter triumph in her first big musical comedy roles
a BLT sandwich in Atlanta
good sex in my 7th decade
monthly folk song swaps at Buffalo Street Books
a red-shouldered hawk flying cross my path, one foot clutching a snake
Harry Potter trivia night at Collegetown Bagels
a crab molting before my eyes, somehow squeezing out through a thin slit in the back of her shell
a dazzling diversity of progressive shows on WRFI Community Radio
colorful fish eating tiny red worms from my fingertips
reading (and finishing) Joyce's Ulysses
a heavenly/tearful experience in the butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History
developing and teaching my own college course: "Art of Aging"
the grad student ball
seeing the movie Harold and Maude for the first time
passing the oral part of my dissertation
a moving tribute to honor those who died when the Titanic sank, 100 years ago
an island of puffins and a flock of elegant flamingos
taking a bath in volcanic waters
witnessing the blooming of the stinky corpse plant, “titan arum,” (a once-every-fifteen-years event)
midnight sun in Iceland
laughing with friends, while riding an elephant
writing my dreams
sleeping on the heated floor of a traditional Korean inn, alone, recovering from illness, and waking each morning to an unknown adventure
taking a longboat ride near a tropical island, against rough seas, and getting completely soaked
stumbling upon a mountainside monastery in Seoul and getting invited to lunch with the monks
a fluffy cat who really, really loves to be petted
baby herons hatching
my daughter and I splashing and paddling through the swim portion of the Cayuga Lake Triathlon
learning that my dear friend's cancer was gone
qi-gong on the beach at sunrise
standing up for what I truly believed was right
heating our house with wood for the first time ever and finding warmth never before experienced
dragonflies everywhere: on the side of my house, on the porch railings, on my arm, during one sunny day in autumn
watching my daughter emerge from the water after swimming across Cayuga Lake on a dazzling, blue-sky shining day at "Women Swimmin'" — a hospice benefit
using binoculars to locate my youngest child's mortarboard and funky orange sunglasses at his Ithaca College graduation on my 54th birthday
hearing a child say "I love school"
acting in a luminous production of Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, after years of yearning to do just that
feeling my mother's spirit near me during a winter spiral ceremony in late December
swimming with a young turtle over the waving sea grass seven feet beneath the surface of Sapphire Bay
the pond surface, covered with frog eggs
celebrating my seventieth birthday with old friends and members of my wide-spread family; and my secret celebration that day, that the biopsy was benign
diving into a new and exciting world of nutrition and mindset, questioning everything I previously thought to be true
writing two articles a month for an online magazine — a dream come true I didn’t even know I was dreaming
reading, reading, reading — did I mention reading?
sitting on the deck, watching somebody else mow the lawn
feeling deep love and gratitude for the person I met 13 years ago
opening a bottle of bubbly after passing my final exam and screaming like crazy
understanding the concept of being connected with everybody on this planet — past, present and future
playing a euphonium/organ duet with my friend Joan in her living room
realizing that I was still capable of life changing decisions
learning how to make brioche
singing in a group for the first time in a long time
eating Indian food, something I had not done before and had really wanted to try
the true comfort and joy of living in a place that reflects my values and provides stimulation to learn and grow
watching families of ducks and geese on the inlet throughout the spring
sparkles around the Big Dipper, maybe they were the August shooting stars
seeing my 21-year-old son, Zane, without his hat for the first time in a year
watching the walls go up on our new house
learning lace knitting and creating a beautiful scarf
baby goats; spring peepers; white tail rabbits eating clover at the edge of the garden
THANK YOU to all these delightful contributors:
Anne Killian-Russo
Barbara Kane Lewis
Bridget Alano
Carol Bossard
Charlotte Sweeney
Chris Fontana
Claudia Tracy
Deirdre Silverman
Gary Russo
Gwen Guo
Jackie Mott Brown
Judith Andrew
June Wolfman
Laurie Petersen
Lee Miller
Lourdes Brache
Martha Blue Waters
Mihal Ronen
Nancy Koschmann
Nancy Barno Reynolds
Nina Miller
Padma O'Mara
Pamela Goddard
Paula Peters Marra
Peggy Conolly
Randy Mott Cobb
Sasha Paris
Stacey Murphy
Zee Zahava
