Grateful Blog

Today I’m grateful that:

• The weather was perfect for a day of island hopping in Boston Harbor with my nephew Gabriel as the star of the day, and my husband Chad and my brother Tommy as the supporting cast.
• I got to spend “quality time”, as they say, with Gabriel. These days are few and far between. I’m sure his Mom in Toronto misses him, but from a selfish point of view, I’m so happy for this extra time with him.
• Here’s our self-portrait in the blazing sun on the boat on the way to Spectacle Island for kite flying.

Today I’m grateful that:

• Even though the past week, especially the past four days, has been super busy, uncertain at times, and a little overwhelming, it’s all been mixed with great family and friends that turned it into one of the best weekends I’ve had in awhile.
• My brother and little sister like playing nerdy board games til one in the morning on a Saturday night. Okay, maybe they didn’t exactly like it by 1am, but at least at that point they humored me and continued playing Racko until I finally won a game! (Yes, I made them pose for this picture. They looked thrilled, right?)
• Relatively short but quality time with two of our best D.C. friends, Dana and T.O. Sadly, separately, but one of these days we’ll get the band back together.
• Seeing children you baby-sat become adults brings up a strange mix of emotions, but it helps when they become pretty impressive adults. Really glad that despite feeling like I had a million things to do, I hung out for a couple of hours at Julia’s high school graduation party. I think it’s pretty cool that she’s going into graphic design at Colby-Sawyer, and Robbie is interning at the Ledger and going to be sports editor at the Colby newspaper this year — My plan to influence their minds into following in my footsteps worked! World domination is up next…

Today I’m grateful that:

• The weather was perfect for a boat ride into the city to celebrate Chad’s birthday.
• We arrived at the bar for a pre-dinner drink at the exact perfect moment to watch the Sox game. We strolled in just as Papi was stepping up to bat in the bottom of the 9th, having apparently saved his swing to provide the ultimate drama by knocking in three runs for the come-from-behind win.
• Despite a long wait for a table and a waitress who completely forgot our order, we somehow made it back to the dock in plenty of time to catch the last boat home to Quincy. We had alternatives for getting back to the Q, but sharing a crowded Red Line train is far less appealing than making our way back home while having a last drink, breathing in some fresh ocean air, and taking in a beautiful view from the boat.

Today I’m grateful that:

• Chad was able to spend four full days down in D.C., spending time getting acquainted with our new nephew, Mateo.



• Technology allows us to do amazing things (that we don’t even think twice about any more, but really, they are amazing) like click on a couple of links and be connected by video from Boston to D.C. I was so disappointed that I ended up having to cancel my part of the D.C. trip, but so grateful that I got to literally see the whole family and talk to them for an hour, at no cost, with virtually perfect sound and great visuals. We’re already at the point where this has become so commonplace that we take it for granted, and no, it’s not the same as being there, but it is truly amazing!
• My four-year-old nephew Christian had lots of great stories to tell me “through the computer.” I’m not gonna lie, I’m not 100% sure what some of them were actually about, but I was thoroughly entertained for a good 20 minutes

Today, I’m grateful that:

• Chad and I have party planning and hosting down to a science.
• The weather turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. It was supposed to be disgustingly hot … It wasn’t even a little bit gross. It was simply perfect.
• A wonderful mix of friends and family showed up throughout the day/night to help us continue our relatively new tradition of Fourth of July cookout followed by a walk to the beach to watch the fireworks. Thanks to Chad for taking the folks to the beach, while I entertained those who wanted to stay behind, though next year we’ll both be making it to the beach, as I apparently missed some good times
• This is probably my favorite photo of the evening. Chad and his new BFF, the adorable Mr. C!

Today I’m grateful that:

• I have a nice clean car to spend my commuting hours in thanks to Chad
• The Celtics hung on in the fourth quarter and proved Phil Jackson wrong.
• Kobe Bryant played ridiculously well … and still LOST. This is very satisfying.

Some days it’s more important than others for me to focus on the things that I’m grateful for. Today is one of those, and today I’m grateful that:

• My sister and her family arrived home in Toronto safe and sound after a long drive from Boston.
• My father, though retired for a few years now, still puts his 30+ years in human resources to good use dispensing advice from time to time when called upon.
• My former co-workers have a sick sense of humor and apparently a fair amount of time on their hands. It made for a long and entertaining e-mail string to read while stuck in traffic on the way home from work tonight.
• This is not always the best thing, but tonight I’m grateful that Chad can sleep through pretty much anything, including my typing. Tonight I’m grateful to be able to get some things done on the interwebs from bed, where I can still glance over and see him there. Maybe not 100% there at this very moment, but still there, and for that I am very grateful.

Today I’m grateful that:

• Four years ago, Chad and I realized our dream of becoming homeowners. I’m grateful for all the people who helped us in one way or another realize that dream.
• Given that the last two years have included me being out of full-time work for nine months, and Chad also being out of full-time work for nine months, some of those at the same time, I’m damn grateful we’re somehow still homeowners!

Today I’m grateful that:

• I was so satisfied with the series ending to “Lost.” Going into the finale, I thought I was waiting for certain questions to be answered, but I realized as the hours went by that I didn’t care if question marks remained in the end. I realized that what I really cared about was seeing that the characters I had become connected to over the past six years got some kind of “happy ending.” What exactly that ending was can be debated forever (and isn’t that one of the main points of the whole show?), but it just felt right to me. They were together, and at peace. Can you ask for more?
• Chad eventually became as addicted to “Lost” as I did. I started watching almost from the very beginning. He didn’t catch on til the second season, if memory serves me correctly. I’ve loved watching it together, then spending almost as much time debating what we just watched. It wouldn’t have been the same without sharing it with him. Though he really needs to let Mr. Ecko go.
• Doc Jensen at EW.com was so addicted to “Lost.” I thoroughly enjoyed reading his lengthy and in-depth re-caps and analysis of the show. I don’t think there was anyone on the Internet whose passion and knowledge of the show could compare to Doc Jensen’s. I will miss it!

Today I’m grateful that:

• Despite tons of time basking in the bright hot Texas sun over the past couple of days, I didn’t get a sunburn. This borders on miraculous. Of course, I was wearing 85 SPF. That probably helped.
• We didn’t have any encounters with ghosts in our supposedly haunted hotel. Just an encounter with a smoke alarm with lights that look like ghost eyes!
• We got some more time being completely lazy by the pool and enjoying the ocean views. So glad we decided to extend the wedding trip a few days. We were so in need of some true relaxation!