Having arrived just four days ago, I’ve already had the opportunity to walk miles through the streets of Manhattan, get caught in the Columbus Day parade, see the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center and take in a Broadway show.  Most important, I’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. 

 

My cousin’s wedding this weekend was a big affair attended by many – it was delightful to see my 87 year old mother looking beautiful and strong, walking down the aisle as the matriarch of the family.  It was great to reconnect with my sister and brother, their children, and all of my cousins, their spouses and kids – all of us, looking very dapper in our black tie attire.  But what was most heartwarming was the sincere response I heard over and over again from each of my relatives when I asked them “how is everything going?”  The response was a simple and authentic “good, everything is good.”  

 

Then, just yesterday I met up with old colleagues from my days at Macy’s and my first move to Houston in 1984.  Now, living in New York, Boston, London and Houston (me), we got together to celebrate another 50^th birthday, to regale in stories and memories from those first “pioneering” days in Texas and to catch up on the years since.  And again, despite one friend with the HIV virus, another in mourning after his mother’s death, and another unemployed, all responded with gratitude about what was going well in their lives.

 

Is it the downturn in the economy in the past year or the continued global strife that has helped us reflect and acknowledge our own good fortune and circumstances?  Is it greater perspective due to increasing age?  For me, I think it was Rabbi Annie’s High Holiday sermon which has stayed with me, enabling me to express my own gratitude and to recognize others doing the same.  Thank you, Rabbi.

 

Wishing you all moments of gratitude.