Happy Thanksgiving!

And today is my birthday.  I was actually born on Thanksgiving Day, so it is extra special when the two days coincide.  And this is my last year of being in my 40’s!  7 x7 How did that happen?  I got tons of birthday greetings on Facebook.  Wow!  I feel loved.  And all my sisters called to sing Happy Birthday.  My parents always used to call and sing Happy Birthday over the phone to us and now, in their absence,  we carry on that tradition for each other.

Later on today, Rick and I will go to Kathryn and Ben’s house for Thanksgiving dinner and to celebrate my birthday.    This means I have most of the day to relax and read.

And what a week this has been leading to Thanksgiving.  Snow, Ice, and Freezing Temperatures! I had to cancel many of my classes this week as temperatures dipped into the teens and the streets were covered with sheets of ice and snow.   On Tuesday, in the low 20 degree temps, I waited  for the bus for a long time with dozens of other people before a very handsome young man came along in his hearty truck, rolled down his window, and asked, “Anybody want a ride downtown?”  I think I dove into his truck!  Two other commuters got in.  I suddenly felt ashamed at how quick I was to get into this nice stranger’s warm truck!  I never once thought that others might be just as cold as I was or that they, too, needed to get downtown!  One of the men who got in next to me said to the driver, “Thank you young man!  I am on my way to the downtown shelter to help give out food.  I was just about to give up and go back home.”   (!!!)

Selfishly, I am happy to report that I was able to teach my 10:30 a.m. class that day at Seattle Athletic Club, thanks to the guy in the truck who gave me a ride.  The only other time I ever took a ride from a stranger was during our last snow storm a few years ago.  Thank goodness the worst of the icy conditions is behind us for the time being.

Here are some photos  from Tuesday!

Deserted downtown Seattle, crispy cold, crystal blue sky, street a sheet of ice:

My neighborhood, Fremont:

Downtown sidewalks are sheets of ice:

View of the Olympics covered in snow:

Kim gave me a birthday card with a meaningful quote I’d like to share:

What lies behind us

and what lies before us

are tiny matters

compared to

what lies

within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

May you take a moment to feel gratitude for all the beauty and richness in your life and for the gem of inner spirit that lies within you!