I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving found many ways to be thankful, most of all for family and friends, but at least second best is pie.
My granddaughter, Ingrid, seven and a second grader, spent the early part of the week with me, including Monday night. Her school takes this week for a fall break. At bedtime, we looked for a few books that seemed good for our search for things to be grateful for, things to celebrate. One favorite I wanted to share with Ingrid is Joyce Sidman's What The Heart Knows: Chants,Charms & Blessings, published in 2013. I knew Ingrid was now old enough to appreciate the thoughtfulness of some of Joyce's poems, and while I skipped past some, we read others that meant good conversations about kindness and happiness and being brave. Afterward, I read the others and was renewed again by Joyce's wonderful words. Here are a few lines with the poem titles I hope will count as a "Chant, Charm or Blessing" for you.Starting Now
begins:
It is time for us to wake:
we who stumble through the day
with our gripes and complaints,