Gratitude #1-4

Beside myself with fear and hope
My hair and nerves are frayed
Will good or evil triumph?
Will history be made?
I'm hopeful - oh, so hopeful!
But still there is much dread
I hope for a new president
Decent, brilliant, kind
I'm hoping to feel good again
About this land I love
To know that law and honor
Are not just words but truths
But let me wait to say much more
Until results are in
And hope my nerves can take it
While waiting for results
I know not all agree with me
But I know where MY hope lies
Barack Obama's dignity
His gentle, steady course
Untainted by divisiveness
Or ugly slanders thrown
Is who I want to lead my land
From the pain and shame it's in
I hope he gets elected
And a new day can begin.

Ok. That's not a very good poem. I wrote it really fast and I'm a little freaked out by the whole election thing and I haven't been able to focus much on anything that requires functional brain cell firing, so I've just spent the day playing dumb games and eating. I am feeling a little better now that the Pennsylvania and Ohio results are in, but my brain is still not quite functioning. I don't want it to be even close. It will be what it will be, I guess. But anyway....

Linda, over at These are the Days, mentioned that she's going to try to post something she's grateful for every day in November and I said I'd try to join in... and then promptly did nothing. So, today being the 4th day of the month here are 4 things I'm grateful for and I'll try to post another one or two each day for the rest of the month to keep Linda company.


#1. One of the things I give thanks for almost every day is the abundance of running water available to me. I know some states in the US have more fragile water systems, but my state - (and the US as a whole) - is remarkably lucky. What a blessing to turn on the tap and have water to drink, to take a wonderful hot shower or bath... to have indoor plumbing. Pretty wonderful blessing.



#2. Of course I'm so grateful for my home. It never occurred to me that I'd ever have a house... never occurred to me to even want one... and then out of a series of awful things that happened to me, I wound up with (with the help of my amazing niece Diana and the State of New York) with a HOME OF MY OWN. How cool is that. And it's a sweet little house with kind neighbors.



#3. My nieces and my nephew (and their children and significant others)... and an surprising number of friends both of the flesh and blood and cyber variety. For a person who hasn't set foot out the door for two years, my life is remarkably full of kind and funny and intelligent and generally delightful people from all over the world. And of course my 4-legged family counts in here too. They keep me amused, annoyed, loved and reasonably happy. Going with the 4-legged on pictures here... it's easier and there are only two of them.



#4. My computer and my blog and all the new people and ideas that have come come to me through this medium.

More tomorrow. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can give thanks for the first black president of the United States. If not, I can still be grateful that he came as far as he did. But I won't get ahead of myself. That's it for today.