8 Reasons for Late-Winter Gratitude

After my grousing about a sailing-free winter a few weeks ago, I’m determined to focus on my life’s many, many positives this week. Here’s a random sampling: 

• Paul and I are healthy, and vaccinations are in sight. 
• I’ve got plenty of work to do from a fantastic home office. I also have an alternative midday seat out on the front porch, in the sun and out of the wind, whenever weather permits such an escape.
• March has arrived. Though this lion-lamb month usually seems to promise more warmth than it actually delivers, that means my sailing-free winter will soon be in the rearview mirror. 
• I’ve already fit a TON of great sailing into a life well-lived, and my memories are still fresh enough to raise a smile. (Or, in some cases, a grimace.)
• Though memory can’t provide new experience, imagination can. I can escape for a quick sail in T-shirt and shorts, anytime I want—no matter what month it is.
• We live close enough to salt water that I can stay in tune with its moods. Watching it change color and texture makes me feel a lot less claustrophobic; even in the middle of a snowstorm, Narragansett Bay stays blue (with a strong shot of gray). 
• Readers continue to enjoy my work, inspiring me to keep at it.
• Even when ice shuts down outside activities, I’ve got exercise options that keep me sleeping well most nights. (Shoutout to Island Heron Yoga and their flexible, virtual, classes.)

Of course, I’m also grateful for several important basics that many other folks don’t have; a warm house, a full belly, a life partner who “gets” me. 

Okay, my glass is recalibrated back to its usual half-full setting again. How about you; what are you grateful for as winter loses its icy grip?