Thankful

As I pull out of the hospital parking lot, I feel nothing but gratitude. The cold Chicago morning has transformed from blustery to pleasantly sunny. I become acutely aware of the gifts bestowed upon me.

I have a mind to think, a body to work, and a heart to love.

*

I walk into the house to find my four year old daughter singing along to an old Squeeze CD.

Tempted by the fruit of another..

She hops back and forth as her button dress flies through the air. My wife stands over the stove, and the smell of Ghiradelli's brownies wafts through the kitchen. My son's face is stained red from the seeds of a pomegranate that he greedily grasps between his fingers.

I will answer phone calls tonight but how can I complain? I will round at the hospital tomorrow, but it is a small price to bear witness to humanity. To experience such profundity on a regular basis that I am often unable to choke out the words to describe my experiences. Instead I write to clumsily record that which I fail to express by other means.

*

And it is you my dear reader.

You have allowed my words to seep out of your computer or cell phone. You have followed me on facebook, twitter, or read my blog. You, who has given me the greatest honor and pleasure to awkwardly juxtapose my thoughts and phrases into something that pleases.

It is for you reading these words at this moment that I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!