Marion Agnew

  Here we are, this place, this day.

It's the little things, mostly. Duty. Integrity. Lately, they really have been bringing me joy. For example.  Yesterday, workers showed up for an appointment, did their work (and more!), chatted and listened to us respectfully, and solved some problems. They even celebrated, in an appropriately distanced way, with us when they had finished. More than a year ago, an worker collected a file, as was her job, and put it where it was supposed to go. Almost two years ago, other workers watched disturbing events happening and recently chose to tell the truth. We are hearing from them  and people like them. A little more than six months ago, technology with roots deep in the 1990s bore fruit, and recently, we all got to see that fruit and can watch it continue to thrive.   Some days, joy is hard to come by. Sick people get sicker. A sick planet ditto. Household systems, and the households surrounding them, age and eventually fail. Always.  Birch trees, like lilies of the fie...

For a few years, I've started the morning (after water and coffee; let's not be ridiculous) with a notebook and a pen. I review yesterday and prep for the day.  ("People" say to do this at the end of the previous day. That makes me anxious. I'm doing me.) One element of this time is a list of three things for which I'm grateful. I have excluded some items from this list (my husband, coffee) except in special cases, because I'm grateful for (and to) them every day.  The purpose of the exercise -- and I have to say, it has helped during these past seven or so years -- is to notice NEW things to be grateful for. Recent items from my list: dental insurance, people in positions of power and authority doing the right things in public, being my own boss (haha), and sunny mornings. I also often gauge the quality of sleep the previous night, because it helps me set reasonable expectations for the day. And yet, those lists don't tell the whole story. Here are so...

Senses. I tried to list them in an order that made sense to me and came up with this, so far: gentleness, openness, curiosity, wonder/awe, competence, diligence, appreciation, understanding, gratitude, duty, and generosity.  I anticipate (ooo, anticipation?) continuing to think about them this month. Along with why and how I pay attention to them. Monday's sun peers out from behind a relatively low gray cloud shortly after rising. The sky holds criss-crossed white clouds higher. The sun reflects from the surface of Lake Superior. A fling with store-bought guacamole. Full of flavour and good to soothe a hankering for guacamole. No match for my sister's, made from scratch, of course, though part of my enjoyment of her guacamole is being on vacation and sharing it with her. A similar fling with local gelato. I enjoy it a lot. But I don't need to enjoy it all the time. Which is good to know. Moments of contentment, joy, connection, and sadness. It's been quite a month and w...