I’m on a time crunch here tonight. I have a big writing assignment due by midnight for a writers’ workshop I’m attending in two weeks (WIFYR). For some reason the assignment is exceptionally hard for me, even though I have a hunch I’m making it a bigger deal than it is.

So here goes.

Gratitude #1 – Safely traveled to hear my nephew speak about his experiences serving as a missionary for two years in the foreign country of California. 😉 He just returned last week and he seems to be readjusting well to “civilian” life.

Gratitude #2 – Friday’s Book-Project Brain-Blaster with my writing partner, who is gutsy enough to ask me the tough questions about my book-in-progress, so that I can get unstuck and move forward with it. It’s a sad thing when you can’t do the homework for your “Murky Middles” workshop because you are too stuck in the murky middles to even get that done. But really, if I weren’t stuck, why would I need a “Murky Middles” class in the first place?

Gratitude #3 – Sam The Dog is rattlesnake trained. It’s awesome. He can locate those sneaky things from many feet away and cue everyone in about the importance of staying away from there.

Gratitude #4 – Miss Casi made it home to Germany safely. This is a good thing, even though I still start crying when I think about the fact that she’s gone for real.

Gratitude #5 – Meigi/Mei Guo (I should just change her blog-name for good) is seeing so many amazing things in Italy. She’s like, “Oh, I was out walking the other day and just accidentally stumbled into the Duomo. Here’s a photo.”

Gratitude #6 – Meigi made it to church today. Sure, you say, there’s a church in every piazza over there. What’s the big deal about that? Well, the deal is, there is not a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in every piazza, and that’s the one we belong to. She had to figure out the buses to get to the right place. But once she was there, Wonderfulness! The ward members (we call a congregation a ward) were so kind and helpful for her, and invited her into their homes, and gave her their phone numbers in case of emergency, and did so many other welcoming things that it just makes me think how marvelous it is to belong to this world-wide church and to have instant friends and people who care about you wherever you go. Not only that, but you always get a chance to be that kind of person for someone else who might need you as well.

Gratitude #7 – Hope. I have hope that I will still get my assignment turned in tonight, in spite of taking the time to be grateful here. I have hope that even if I don’t, the world will still turn; the sun will rise; and nothing terribly bad will happen if I’m late. Hope is a powerful thing. It can keep you going even when all you want to do is quit. Or sleep.