A short list of some of the things for which I’m grateful this week:

1. Getting G’s house ready to host his cousin from Sweden. It really looks a lot better and I feel much more comfortable being over there. There’s only about a month left, but hey, some is better than none.
2. The time I spent with Ingrid yesterday was really sweet. She is another example of a relative that doesn’t seem to be judging my every breath. In addition, she shared a bit about her life – being a widow for 15 years, having a boyfriend (her word) for 6 or 7 years but he died about five years ago. They never married but she is still close with his children. Getting to talk a bit about some of those things was sheer gift.
3. A beautiful day yesterday and plans to show her Minnesota Swedish things that fell apart. That meant we got to spend time enjoying a spectacular spring day in the country, tromped about on the basalt rocks on the St. Croix, watched rock climbers and gazed at one of the most beautiful river valleys as the trees pushed open their leaves.
4. These two people (G and his cousin) who actually seemed concerned for how I was feeling vis a vis my allergies and a headache that developed during the car ride.
5. Good beer (enough), good food (too much!?) and good conversation
6. Giving myself permission this morning to sleep in and miss playing at the first service. This learning to cut myself some slack is hard, but I’m beginning to enjoy it!

35 days or so remain to the wedding and while a nasty little voice screams stress in my head, the rational part of my head says things are well in control. Well, except maybe for my house. There’s a hefty couple of weeks work that needs to be done here, but really, there’s no deadline.

And now I’m off to go enjoy this sunny day. Maybe I’ll trim a few hedges or spray a few weeds. Or maybe I’ll sit in the chaise lounge on the patio and get a little color on my legs.