stepping back in...

it was a day of love and compassion.
of realizing the value of family and friends.

starting in the morning.
with a note where his last line said he was in a dark place.
'want to meet up?' i asked.
half an hour later i was sitting at a table with him.
wanting to tell him a thousand things i knew he couldn't hear,
i opted to asking a whole lotta questions hoping to make
him think.

his dad arrived just a little bit later, sat down and
joined right in.
when his dad started talking about how important gratitude
was in his own life, i looked over and just soaked him in.
he was talking straight forward,linear, guyish, but what he was
saying made me smile and reminded me of one of the many
reasons i loved him. he also understood the magic of gratitude.

his son's brain filled to maximum capacity and he had to go
and 'think about it all.'
leaving just the two of us for a few minutes to finish up
and acknowledging we just gave up the time we had for ourselves
that day. hugging each other goodbye, i headed off to meet
the girls.

my friend was having a hard time. a really hard time. she
didn't want to talk about. so, of course, we talked about it.
she cried. head in her hands at times. my other friend had her
hand out touching her. across the table, i sat and held her
with my eyes. gently we talked. gently we loved each other.

hopping in the car, i ran home to see josh and find out how
he was before he headed out for a music gig. a quick catch up,
a hug at the door, and out he went. calling in later from the
metro, he reported a car problem.

'don't worry, if you need it we'll come pick you up later.'
i told him without hesitation. it'd be when we were asleep
and he knew it. but there was no complaint. we'd be there.
of course. he was covered. i could hear the relief in his voice
and the appreciation of what we had. i hung up knowing it too.

in the kitchen cooking dinner with noah and zakk, we bumped
into each other, reached around each other and commented on
how it felt like we were gourmets. much to my delight as we
were just making veggie wraps!

sitting down to eat it and appreciate it as if it were the
dinner of kings.

i thought hard of how i wanted to re-enter the blogging after
the silence for the tsunami victims.

i wanted to re-enter with love, compassion and gratitude.
i keep trying to think what it would be like to have your
world washed away. i keep holding those people in my hearts.
i'm here still living in my world. i want to know what it is
i have.

yesterday, with each thing going on, i honestly did think
of the tsunami. it was on my mind as i watched the love
everywhere i turned.

holding what i have and feeling very grateful.
holding what's been lost and feeling much compassion.