Day 17,100 Gratitude

Today I am so grateful ...

That I am less than a week away from my family's annual pilgrimage to the sea.  This long, hot summer has me feeling crispy and cranky.  There's been a lot on my plate and mind.  Sometimes the only thing left to do is to cast the burden of it all on Mama Ocean.  Sand and salt water are good medicine, as can be rum and pineapple juice (in moderation, of course).  I say yes to all of it and in communion with my family expect to soften and relocate my sorely missed sense of humor. 

That sometimes a doodle will do.  I lamented over my last sketchbook journal which was so heavy on writing and light on anything artful.  My current journal has picked up where that one left off.  Although I would love to sketch something every single day, the circle-turning, hand-wringing and nail-biting that preface the act are a deterrant.  I know it doesn't have to be that way, but for me, at least for the time being, it is what it is.  A doodle for me doesn't carry the same weight.  It's freeing, the way that I hope sketching will one day be for me.  I'm just glad that I have filled a page with something other than words.  It's a good reminder that there are a thousand different ways to express whatever is on my mind.  I'm quite partial to any way that lets me do so with color.

That no matter how much time passes, I always find myself back here.  Whole-hearted.  Grateful.  And, as always, so grateful for YOU too!