Today, I am 60. I can remember in my youth thinking that the Lord would return before I turned 40, or I would die in a fiery crash or something like that. But God thought otherwise, and here I am.

So much has happened in the last year, and I have not opened this page in what seems like forever. I set aside this counting of blessings, for better or worse – mostly worse. It is never a good idea to stop counting blessings. I owe my 60 years of life to God and His grace, and I must acknowledge that every day.

I am grateful for those who have stuck with me in my absence.

I am grateful for this abundance of snow.

I am grateful for two daughters and my husband who planned the best surprises beginning on New Years Eve and lasted an entire week, making me feel loved and seen.

I am grateful for soft cat fur even though it is everywhere in this house.

I am grateful for text messages, emails, phone calls, cards, social media messages from people who remember 1.11 and wish me a great day.

I am grateful for the best grandchildren.

I am grateful for a fireplace and a plethora of throws.

I am grateful for 2025, even when it starts with such trauma and drama.

I am grateful for the opportunity and privilege to take care of my Dad’s needs, grateful he is recovering, grateful he is anxious to get back to normal.

I am grateful for the friendship we have maintained with Cindy and Keith over the years, grateful for the memories I will always have of my high school best friend, grateful she is in the presence of Jesus and with her parents now.

I am grateful for the book of letters my girls gave to me for my birthday, from the ones in my life who mean the most, an incredible reminder of how blessed I am. Words are precious to me, and this was the best gift I think I could have received.

I am grateful that I have had the support of Sam to work on this college degree process, and I am grateful that I am still on track to walk across the stage at the end of this year.

I am grateful for this new freedom to be home without having to go to work any longer, although I miss not having to go to work any longer.

I am grateful that I can still help my son-in-law and husband shovel a driveway full of snow.

I am grateful for sibling group texts.

I am grateful for moments with Sam when we laugh together, when we have serious discussions, when we both sit in the fireplace room in silence, reading books and enjoying the quietness of an afternoon.

I am grateful for the privilege to sit in a classroom full of very smart students all younger than me – I am learning so much about the world, about literature that I never knew existed, about writing, about the richness of diversity, about accepting other opinions and points of view.

I am grateful for my birthday gift of a daughter who has her hands full and overflowing with God’s gifts of her own.

I am grateful for my health, my supplements, my treadmill, my tennis shoes…but not my scale. It is not my friend, yet.

2025 has just begun to be written, and I am grateful for blank pages full of possibilities and story lines.

I am learning to count my blessings all over again, acknowledging and thanking God, starting new on 1.11. No better time than the present.