Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. - Khalil Gibran

My friend Kamal recently did this on Facebook; I think it’s a great idea, and a good segue into summing up the past few months, the busiest I’ve had in many moons.

1) The week of July 27-August 2. My sacrifices to the weather gods worked; we had a glorious wedding week. And I’m still in awe of the numbers - so many people made the effort to get to the Highlands, and I am still swimming in gratitude. The Wichita party was fantastic as well, and a testament to the many friends my parents have made throughout their lives. Celebrating such a momentous occasion in the presence of so many people I care about was so moving.
2) People. I think that covers it. My family, old friends, new friends, long lost friends, friends I speak to once a day, once a month, once a year. People I meet for a few moments, people who shimmy in and out at various times - it’s a cocktail of personalities, lifestyles, ages, backgrounds, and I always have my eyes open to see how my perspective can change with a single conversation.

3) Food. A nice meal can melt anyone's heart.

4) Travel. As if this needs to be explained. (4b) Italy. My heart is in Italy. Life is always a little bit better knowing Italy exists.

5) Health. I never knew how much could go wrong in the body. Having a doctor for a partner, with all these medical books in our house, stories from work, etc. makes me grateful, every day, for my imperfectly perfect body. Waking up every morning, with everything working, is a minor miracle.

6) Creativity. The ability to write. Today I finished a revision of a novel I began in late February; I'm aiming to have it to my agent in the next couple of weeks. I've never written a novel this quickly before, but it fell out, in clumps and flows, and this might be the big one.

Four months of wedding preparations, trips to Tuscany, Kansas, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, a new book. Forgive my tarrying. To life, eh?