The Gratitude Project

Parents

2012-01-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for my parents. they are just so awesome! They can teach me things that I would have never know before.

Horses

2012-01-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for the existence of horses. With out them we would not have bin able to clear the prairies. I love horses with out them we would not be able to get away. Horses are a blessing. I've bin taking horse lessons that my parents pay for and I love it. I am almost a intermittent rider!

My Mom

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy my mom just did the San Francisco marathon! I am so happy to have a athletic mom.

Willy

2011-07-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful for Horses! I love horses so much I've bin doing a horse camp and i'm very thankful for my parents for piang for it for me and Roxy. I get a horse all to my self his name is Willy he is black well his actually brown but i call him black. I've cantered, trotted, and walked on him he is a bit lasy but if you give him a kick than he gets going. So I'm thankful for all that.

Life

2011-07-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

I was thinking how there are so many people less fortunate than i and i am so thankful that i live in a worm safe house, good parents with jobs, friends, food, and good books wan there are so many people in the world with no education. I'm so grateful for life it self.

Finishing Good Books and Meeting New Babies

2010-05-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for good books. I especially like finishing good books; one of these is Harry Potter, others include the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
And I'm thankful for a new little sister, whom I can't wait to see.

Skiing

2010-05-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've only been skiing once, but it was so much fun. I went on a "diamond run". That part was a little scary. I want to go again soon.

Audiobooks

2010-05-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

I LOVE AUDIO BOOKS!
I listen to them all the time. I listen to them on my phone, on my computer and in the car. I love a good audio book. I'll listen non-stop until it's done, if it's good. If it's not so good, then I won't listen to it very long.

Family

2010-05-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's wonderful to have family, especially in strife. In my family, we've got each others back. It helps. To have family is a gift like no other. You always have someone to talk to. You are never truly lonely. And it's fun to do things together. It's easy to play imaginary games, too. And they cook for you.
It's wonderful.

Loving Nature

2010-05-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm glad that I live in a place where I walk out my front door to see hundreds of trees. I love nature, it is beautiful and green is my favorite color.

Life Behind Glass

2010-05-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

VALENTINA, my new sister, was born 2 months premature. I'm the only kid who has seen her. She's in the NICU right now. I saw her behind glass because the doctors wouldn't let me in.
But I love her anyway.

2009-12-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

Children singing can heal an anxious mind
My children singing is like wine
Laughter rolls through my inside
Washes away pain and time

2009-12-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Roxalana sparkled and glowed
Vance stood tall as his staff
Francesca spoke with poise
I'm grateful for Christmas Cantata

2009-12-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

A cruise ship of family docked here yesterday
Silblings, parents, cousins and the usual stranger added in
Children ran in for food without stopping their play
A carnival of words. Conversation is our game
Frankie's banner spoke for all. Mom, Happy Birthday!

The Storm

2009-12-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we had a rain storm. The first rain in like two years! Sheets of water came down from the sky and when I stepped outside my hair got drenched. The earth seemed to be screaming with happiness.
Vance, Roxy and I went outside and played in the rain. We stomped in a puddle that after an hour of rain turned into a lake. Our little stream went from being about one and a half feet wide to being more than a yard wide.
My brother, sister and I were singing and screaming, we were so happy too.
When we couldn't feel our hands anymore, because we were so cold, we went back inside the house to get warm.

2009-11-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Gratitude comes with an attitude
Appreciation of time, energy in the nude
Mine comes from Joana,
Happiness maker for this lucky dude
She researches and writes
Cooks the best bean and kale stewed
6 treasures she gave me
SaviElena, Frankie, Vance, Rox, SaviLucia, and Jude?

Lizards, Holidays and Friends

2009-11-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for my friends and for Christmas and Halloween. I 'm thankful that once my mom and I were resting and I saw a lizard on the windowsill. It looked liked it was resting too. I'm thankful for Mrs. Brownlow, who let me join the Children's choir so I can sing for the Christmas program at her church. I'm thankful for when my friends came to my house and played with me, especially my friends Landon and Julian. I'm thankful for the time when Santa Claus came to our house for Christmas. I know it was Santa Claus, because it really was Santa Claus.

Whatever is Next

2009-11-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for Tomorrow.
She isn't here yet, but I know she will come and bring the next day with her. Will she bring tens of clouds in her wake and rain and new life to the dry land? Will she stay warm and dry and quiet instead?
I don't know yet, but I do know things will be different when she arrives.
And we'll never get back to Today.

The Great Outdoors

2009-11-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

You know what I like about the world? You can just do some easy work and then you get to go outside to the great outdoors and sing and laugh and play. Then you can form a club or make a fort. Then you guard the club or fort and you can play you are pirates or that you are a great adventurer and that the vines are snakes and you can pretend anything you want! Take my advice, just get your school work or chores or Kumon done and go outside and get fresh air. You'll love it. Trust me.

A Club with Exceptions

2009-09-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

I am very glad that my cousins are visiting. We get to play, play, play! We made a club that was a "girls only" club, but with two male exceptions. So, most of the club was made up for girls and I got to be one of the boys to join. Roman, my cousin, was the other boy that joined the club. But, no other boys got to join.

Purses, Parties and a Caring Daddy

2009-09-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

I am thankful that once, when I got hurt and there was blood all over my knee, my daddy took care of me. He put band-aids on my cuts and then he gave me ice cream!
Another time, my Uncle Steve had a party for adults-only but he let me and my sisters and brother join in on the party and we danced and had so much fun.
And once my sister gave me something that I really loved, it was a little aqua-ish colored purse.
I will say good-bye now, but first, would you please write a comment for me to read. Have a great time. Good-bye!

Frankie Knows

2009-07-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

While tucking Frankie in to bed tonight I told her, "I love you and I think you're wonderful."
"I know. And you got me" she said with eyelids dropping.
Mission accomplished.
She turns ten years old at 11:50pm tonight. Of all the things I want my kids to know, the most important is that I love them and think they're wonderful.
It began 7 or 8 years ago. In those words, every night at bedtime I summarize life as I see. It started with Savielena and has grown with each child. They now try to beat me to it. I work it into the story of whatever bedtime book we're reading to catch them off guard. They add it to songs they're singing as they get their jammies on.
Sometimes I ask, "Do you know what?" and they jump in with, "Yes! You love me and think I'm wonderful."
I'm grateful that Frankie knows.

A Full Decade

2009-07-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am thankful to be here, sitting at a large dining room table thinking about this decade. This time between the arrival, ten minutes shy of midnight, of Francesca into the world and tonight, warm in so many ways.
At one her smiles came easy and she slept like an angel.
At two she wore red boots even on hot summer days and learned to write her name.
At three her hair curled a thousand ways to reflect the sun, she danced for hours and arranged wild flower bouquets, one for each room in the house.
At four she rode a palomino horse named cowboy, wore jeweled sandals to town and became her older sister's best sidekick.
At five she lost that sister, stopped dancing and quit praying for miracles.
At six she listened to and watched: she waited on and wondered about the idea that is Life.
At seven she sold dozens of fresh eggs to neighbors and built a house under weeping willows. She played long and saved her brother from fears; she told him "Good always wins."
At eight she learned to swim hard and fast, changed her baby sister's diaper and played the piano with both hands.
At nine she loved History and Science, memorized long, complicated poems and learned to surf.
Today she is ten and my heart swells with gratitude for her and I know I will always feel this way about my dear girl.

My 10th Birthday

2009-07-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for my birthday!
Today is my birthday, the 25th of July and I had a blast at my party. I am turning ten. I really liked the water balloon fight. We had two teams. I led one and my friends J.T and Landon led the other team. Each team had its own territory to protect. My team won because the other team ran out of water balloons first. Both teams had the exact same number of water balloons. I know, because I counted them. I filled up the water balloons and my dad, my brother Vance and my friend Julian helped me.
I am so thankful for my birthday.

Sleeping Baby

2009-06-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

The instant my baby's eyes close and little arms go limp as she enters the mysterious state of infant dreaming...that is a moment I am grateful for.

The Best Thing To Do In The World

2009-06-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Books are wonderful. When you read them they can unleash adventures more powerful than the world has ever known in reality. My favorite books of all are when the hero gets away from all the bad things. Sometimes authors have a villian win in the end, but I like stories with happy endings. But sometimes authors make the end a mix of good ad bad.
Here's some books you should read:

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series
The Hobbit
The Mysterious Benedict Society (I & II)

Read the above books in that order, because it will be funner.

The Beach

2009-06-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for the beach. We take kitchen utensils to use to build sandcastles. I like it best when it is almost empty of people, on a warm summer morning when the water is nice. I love buggy-boarding. I love getting hit by the waves and then feeling numb from the cold Pacific Ocean. When my dad comes, he buries our bodies with sand, just leaving our faces uncovered. I take time to collect shells and rocks that have been eroding from water washing over them over and over and over. I love the beach!

I'm thankful for song birds

2009-03-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for song birds because I like music and I love all the different songs they bring to the world and music.

Ten Things I Think Are Just Great:

2009-03-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wind blowing by

Raindrops on orange poppies

Faces that smile

Hills covered in poppies

Laughs, giggles and chuckles

Ancient history

Songs that stay in my head

Birds twittering a song

Sun shining on my face

A good surprise

The Heart of the Planet

2009-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for what marine biologist Sylvia Earle calls "The Heart of the Planet"; the world's oceans. Earle, this year's TED Prize Winner, recently gave a beautiful presentation about our oceans and their precarious status as sustainers of life.
We truly live in a beautiful world.
But as humans become more efficient at finding and exploiting food sources our collective responsibility grows.
I am grateful I can do my tiny little part to restore the oceans' biodiversity.

I can refuse to eat fish or fish products.

I can limit my use of bottled water to the absolute bare minimum, as well as reduce use of other plastics.

I can start saving my pennies to purchase a clean-running car someday.

I can tell everyone I know about the role we can all play to keep our earth beautiful and full of life.

I am grateful I live in health and enjoy the beauty of creation and I am thankful for the hope of my grandchildren being able to do the same.

Our Puppy

2009-02-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

I am happy for the puppy I own (along with my family). Our puppy's name is Magic. He is a Labradoodle. He is very excited and will jump on you, especially if he has been outside for a few minutes or more. He is black, not apricot color. Some people think he is a poodle. When we first got him, his nickname was "killer." But he is nowhere near being a killer. He is a kid's "joy and delight" kind of dog. I am so thankful for Magic.

Hope

2009-02-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for hope, because it brings happiness and joy about the future. Hope makes you feel like there is a bright tomorrow. Nothing is lost and you can keep going. Hope is the jewel of life for people all around the world.
Right now I am hoping to know a lot about hawks in the future. So I am studying all about them.
I also hope our seas and oceans will be restored to health in my lifetime.
And I hope we get a good guard dog soon.
I am thankful for hope.

Baby Sister

2009-02-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my little sister, Savi. It's fun to watch her chase my ball or crawl under a table or sit on the computer box. She likes to yell, "AHHHHH!" to get our attention. She isn't supposed to sit on the computer box, but she doesn't know it. She's a baby. We have a little, extra, computer keyboard that isn't connected to anything and she likes to pretend she's typing. She bangs her hands on it. And makes it look like she's busy typing, but of course she isn't. She makes me laugh every day.

2009-02-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ziuooowaiooo

The laser gun hummed in my hand. I finally figured out this four pound hunk of triggers and buttons. Blam! The red dome hit indicator flashed red. My life force dropped two levels. The power of suggestion was so strong I actually felt weaker.

I remembered the shield button and pressed. My face glowed green from the shield light on the back of my laser. As I ran for cover I discovered my gun was a girl. She said, "Your life force is dangerously low."

I mentally rejected that and jumped into the dark hall firing as fast as I could. Although the game ended for me right then, I still reject that idea. My life force is stronger now than before the laser tag game with my kids and friend Paul Zak.

I'm in a home where everyone plays.

My Life force is high.

Light and Darkness

2009-02-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for light. With light you can see all the color in the world. You can see what you are doing. You can see your friends' faces.
I'm thankful for darkness and nighttime. In the dark, we can play games like laser tag, hiding go seek and "the scary game," which is a version of hiding go seek, but you scream when you find the person. When we play with my cousin Zack, it is so scary. Zack loves to play that games, and we, younger cousins, love to play it too.

Peter Pan II, the movie

2009-02-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

I love the movie Peter Pan II. My favorite character is the Octopus. The Octopus is real funny. Tinker Bell doesn't like Wendy's daughter also. Captain Hook is the most evilist villain. I'm thankful my mom let me watch it.

Life

2009-02-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for life. There can be good and bad in it. But it is always a surprise, because you can't predict the future. It can be really bad or really great or really medium. When you fall and break your arm, that is really bad. But when you get a Chirstmas present that you really wanted, that is really good. When you are playing outside and you are happy, that is really medium.

All The Candy In The World

2009-02-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for yummy candies to eat. Like, I love licorice even though it disappears down my throat really fast. I also love this candy covered nut because it is crunchy, but not jaw-breaker crunchy. And I love chocolate coins. Last I ate those were when my grandmother, Abuela, gave one each to us kids.

Rain

2009-02-12T09:52:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for rain and the joy it brings. After it rains I see little green sprouts popping up everywhere. Weeds, flowers and any seeds that have been dormant in the ground pop up and bloom and grow and offer their faces to the sun. The rain cleans the air too. I love going out to the rain and playing in puddles and getting soaked and muddy. Every time I come back in the house I have to change my pants and socks. I love the rain!

Wildness!

2009-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

I love having the gift of wildness!

Like, you should have seen me go crazy on Halloween. I went crazy trying to pick which costume I would wear. I finally dressed as one of the Three Musketeers.

Like, all the time I jump around doing weird stuff, to get my energy out. But when I stop and think I need a rest, it is really just a chance for my energy to come back full force!

Another example of being wild is like one time we were scootering and I went down the hill without the brakes on. And I love making tire marks with my bike.

Being wild and full of energy is great because when I run in a triathlon at least I am good at the running part.

Snacks For Me

2009-02-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

I love yummy snacks. I am always hungry. That's why I write about snacks. One of my favorite snacks would be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Another one would be chocolate milk. Another one would be an energy bar that I love. My dad said he got it from Trader Joe's, or was it Costco? I am thankful for these snacks because I love to eat.

The Music of the Stars

2009-02-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for stars. They're so pretty when you are in the country and there are no artificial lights to interfere with the light of the stars and the moon. My dad and I like to sing a song called "The Stars are Ours Tonight, " when we see a sky full of stars. They are so pretty.
Stars make me think of happiness and the goodness of life and I always think of music too.

Great Authors

2009-02-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

I love wonderful stories. Like for instance, these are my four favorite authors: Roald Dahl, Rick Riordan, Trenton Lee Stewart and Ron Roy. Rick Riordan is the author of The Lightning Thief. Trenton Lee Stewart wrote The Mysterious Benedict Society, Roald Dahl is the author of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Ron Roy is the author of a collection of books called A-Z Mysteries. Those four authors all write really cool books. You should get them. They'll fascinate you.

Running in Hawaii

2009-02-03T04:58:00.000-08:00

Running in the dark, waiting for dawn, awake and moving, with so much to look forward to is better than dessert for me. Running through a new, unknown, city to witness the change from quiet pause to bustle, nodded greetings and fresh newspapers, with options to run beach side; that, is a bit of heaven.

I am grateful for running in Waikiki, early, still cool and with company.

I Don't Have Any, But

2009-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for fur.

Tennis and All

2009-01-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

I am thankful our family played tennis this morning. I love playing tennis. It gives me energy when I know exactly how I'm hitting the ball. If I'm hitting well I get lots of energy. If I miss, I still get some energy and I know I need to focus for the next shot. Tennis makes me feel strong, tired, weak, happy and filled with energy, all at the same time. After tennis, my dad often takes us kids to get a drink at Jamba Juice. Then I feel renewed.

Today, when we got home I practiced my cursive writing and then I am here, posting on my blog. So, I am thankful for tennis and for all the things that happen afterward.

Flying fuzz

2009-01-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

Green fuzz particles exploded in a puff, left behind the tennis ball that shot out at the imaginary "Svetlana." The flying fuzz swirled suspended in the air around Frankie's head. After 30 years at this game I could smell the fuzz. I knew the satisfaction Frankie must be feeling - solid, loaded-up, driven, victorious. That ball's not com'n back! The wiz-swang sound as the ball spun past my head. Warm sunshine. Vance & Rox crawling after baby SaviLucia on the side court. Magic sleeping in the shade. A basket-roller half filled with tennis balls at my side. It's great to know tennis. It's great to know it so that I can give it to Frankie, Vance, Rox and soon to SaviLucia. It's great because of moments like this. Flying fuzz off Frankie's topspin backhand. She's going to load-it-up!

A Moment With Roxy

2009-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful to be here on earth this minute. Everything seems just right. The breeze blows and my little girl's hair flutters. She twirls around a green patio umbrella post and stops to tell me "I 'm a little mad to be here."

"Why?" I ask, not surprised really. She doesn't ever hide her feelings.

"Because," she doesn't finish. She wants to talk to me and thought I probably wouldn't. But I said "Why?" in just the right tone of voice. I left her speechless for a moment, in a good way.

"Well," I said, "That's O.K. Because I love you even if you're a little mad."

She smiles.

I'm so glad she loves me anyway, too.

A Funny UnderDog Story

2009-01-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for wonderful stories that I can read. Like right now, I have been looking at the book "SuperDog: The Heart of a Hero". It will interest you a lot. It is about a dog who looks like a sausage on meatballs. He works really hard and turns into a superdog with big muscles. He helps people who are in trouble. I had never heard of superdog, I had only heard on "underdog." It's a funny story.

Catching And Releasing White Beauties

2009-01-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for butterflies. They bring so much color to the world. As you may have noticed, I've written a lot about color on this blog.

One day, a Tuesday, my friend Hunter and my brother Vance and I went butterfly hunting (catching, really). We were looking for Monarch or Swallow-tail butterflies. We didn't catch any of those kinds. I got about a centimeter away from catching a swallow-tail butterfly but I missed it. Hunter also tried several times, but he couldn't catch any either and neither could my brother. We did catch other more common ones, white ones, which we see a lot here in Southern California. The butterflies kept us company while we worked on our studies. I worked on my Egypt studies and Hunter and Vance worked on their Dinosaur studies. We let the butterflies we caught go free, after a few hours, so they wouldn't die.

P.S.: I hope that whenever people catch butterflies, they let them go soon after. That goes for most other animals also.

I'll Love You Best If You Laugh At My Jokes

2009-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my dog Magic and for all the pets we've ever had: Our dogs and fishes and chickens.
Yesterday our family went to the beach, and I'm thankful for that.
And I'm thankful for Uncle Jesse and his family and that the kids come to play with us every day. I really like to play with them, when they are nice to me. My favorite kid in Uncle Jesses's family is Kinzie because she is very nice every single day. She pushes me on the swing and she laughs at my jokes. Last time they played with us we played a game called "Martin and Chris's ABC's". It was a game about pirates that were attacking us and were trying to make us slaves. Roman and Vance were the pirates who were after treasure; which in the game was a bag of popcorn.

Art

2009-01-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for art to look at. This morning I looked at one of the paintings hanging in our dining room. It isn't famous but its vibrant colors do so much for my world. There are, of course, famous pictures in the world, they are a thought frozen in time. Like the Mona Lisa or Salvador Dali's Spain 1938.

I Write Faster in Chinese

2009-01-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for our new dog.

And I am thankful I have a family.

And I am thankful for fake snoring, because it makes me laugh. Frankie and I were just taking turns fake snoring and we broke out into laughter each time. And it was so funny!

Frmqo Mokmammmy orwwowkrkkwpfffkwdfrtgfyhgvbnjmkiol,khtghbrechb hgfyfvbnmjjuyhgtfrdeswaewrtgfc (I am trying to write in Chinese).

grydghgnbvnmjiutsaqwedrftgyuofgrygffgfffetteeyvfgtbhngvfcdswerfgghhbvccccfedrtyghbyredfcxerr

gyftygy98ugtygfcdxsefgbhnjmkiuyhbgfrdeswgbnmhgfdxxdertyuijhbgfdrtyurdesxcvbnmjhgfdsapoiiuyttttttfd

Oh the Things I Will Do...

2009-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my new computer, because it is really cool and I've never had my own computer before and I don't have to have the same e-mail address as my parents. It's really small and it can fit into a very small suitcase, one as big as a folder. I want to use it to play games on and to type up clues for treasure hunts and maybe even go onto a dot.com bookstore and order kid's books.

Music Calms My Soul

2009-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for music.

I have posted about music before. But to me it is worth posting again. Music helps me calm down. When I'm nervous about something and my stomach seems twisted, I turn to music. I have written a couple of pices for the piano. I love playing the piano; I spend about 7 hours a week on the bench playing everything from Fur Elise to simpler songs and anything else I am to practice. I also play throughout the day whenever I feel like it. I also love singing and enjoy my voice lessons. I like to listen to others play all sorts of other instruments too, like the cello, mandolin, violin, and just about any other instrument.

Chocolate is Oh So Good for Me!

2009-01-09T18:06:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for chocolate. Sometimes my mom gives us "chocolate for the day." Did you know chocolate is good for you in small amounts? That is, if it is dark chocolate. It is also very poisonous for dogs.

Four or five years ago, my older sister and I went to the Museum of Natural History in San Diego. My sister was studying chocolate and the museum had an exhibit on chocolate. We got to taste so much chocolate that we almost exploted! You would think I'd be sick of it forever after, but I could never be sick of chocolate.

New Puppy

2009-01-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

The day before yesterday we got a new, blacker-than-night, puppy and named him "Magic." He is a two month old Labradoodle. His fur is really curly and he's gentle and sweet. After we picked up our puppy on Sunday, we went to my cousin Gaby's house. Everyone there thought our new puppy was really cute. Then, we didn't know what his named would be yet. We were considering the names "Rush," "Darwin," "Blaise Pascal", "Percy," "Puck" and "Stormy." Everyone liked the name "Magic" so that is why we named him that. I am grateful for my new puppy.

Francesca and Her Hand-Tied Blankets

2009-01-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

Three new blankets, colorful with soft tassles tied by Francesca's young hands, are keeping three children warm and feeling loved. Frankie picked the velvet fleece, each color a favorite for it's meaning.
Green stands for all things hoped for;
Red for vibrant life;
Royal blue for an imaginary sky and orange for the summer sunset;
Purple for royal dreams and yellow for springtime flowers.
She cut the cloth, and tied a hundred ends, then gave a blanket to each child who'd care. One for Vance, one to Roxie and one for herself. A blanket for each to remember love, warmth, heaven and earth, and the beautiful girl who made them. A blanket for each to think on the place where such ideas and realities live:
home.

Brain Stimulating Life

2009-01-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

A small brown squirrel blends into the woodchip surrounding a tangerine tree. I notice it outside my window when it flits nervously, acorn in hand, searching, seeming to know her little moment counts for much. She is like me, a mammal with brown hair and a family to grow. I may never see her again, but she's now inside my head; a bundle of stimuli from the world I inhabit. Millions of stimuli push through my cornea and stay, every minute of every day. How my brain sorts them all, I am only beginning to learn. I am so grateful for how my brain does this conciousness thing.

This New Year I am grateful for my brain and all its machinations and I am thankful for the world in which I move that provides so much richness, beauty and possibilities.

The Baby

2008-12-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

This year a new life came to be. She cries when she's mad or lonely. She smiles, cocks her head in delight, and calls me with her eyes from her high chair. She eats peas and drinks a lot of milk and hugs me with her entire body. Her skin is light and her heart is healthy. We call her "baby" or "Lucy"; sometimes "Savi Lucia" or just "Savi", and she stands for hope and all the good that comes with being human. She is the best that came with the year 2008.

Soon-to-be-met Relatives

2008-12-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for having a guest over today. She is from my dad's side of the family; she is my dad's cousin. We call her Auntie Pam. I can't wait to meet her! She'll be here soon.
Oops, I think I have to stop writing now.

Snow

2008-12-31T17:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the snowy mountains of Idyllwild. I had not seen or touched real snow in years! My dad rented a cabin for us to stay in. The roof was white with snow and so was the yard. After unloading our stuff for an overnight stay (except our sleds) we went to a National Park to sled. Our cousins met us there. They weren't going to stay overnight, though. Back at our cabin, later, we drank hot chocolate and had soup. We went to bed after our cousins left. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast that was very filling, at a local cafe. We played in the snow some more. We made a snow avocado and an igloo for tiny people. I really loved playing in the snow. I am so thankful for snow.

Fun Rides and Little Things

2008-12-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for amusement parks because they have nice, cool roller coasters. I went to Knott's Berry Farm and the log ride there was fantastic! I also like to go to amusement parks because they usually have nice little stores that sell nice little things. I like the nice, little things because they are nice and little.

Pain in the Neck

2008-12-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for pain in the neck. As I look at this screen sideways - my head tilted in a spasm to the right - I'm reminded to take better care of myself. The searing tension fires suddenly at times when I most need my neck - like just before I need to change lanes or go on stage. If I were the hunchback in charge of ringing bells I guess it wouldn't matter so much but I'm not; I'm a neck and back doctor. My spine must move like a dancers. Nobody wants to see a spine doctor who is bent in torticolis. I'm grateful I can run, ride, swim and play all kids of games that keep my spine and body healthy.

I'm grateful the other Vance had neck pain too. Hold on, don't jump to conclusions - I'll explain. Vance Jr. hurt his neck while rough-housing with his bigger and smaller sisters. He was left with a fixed bend to the right, torticolis and pain. I examined him with an objective eye - ya right! My training took over - "Don't treat family. Get outside objective expert care." I called my friend Jeff (Spine Surgeon) who gave me a favor. Two X-rays and a CT scan later, Jeff said what I wanted to hear, "He's all clear. No facet dislocation. Everything looks fine."

I'm grateful for the pain because Vance and Vance are both taking better care of their necks.

Ouch! I think I'll stop typing now.

Some Time

2008-12-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for the illusion of time. Some raise children and wonder where the time went. When my children are grown I know I won't wonder, because I am here, practically every minute of their lives. I tell them "God cleans Manhattan every year with snow at Christmas."

I tell them "the Muppets are coming back in-vogue" and read the corresponding The New York Times story out loud, over hot drinks at Starbucks. I clip their fingernails and find their blankies when lost at 1:00 a.m., then 2:30 and 5:05. This is my point in time. I am here. In 2025, today will be part of another life, but today I have time. Time to re-group after a too-long lecture on behaving well; time to live the day again, to get it right in their presence. Time to read them another chapter of The Great Brain or stop to chat with Rabbi Barry or apologize for a short temper or hold the baby until she calms. Time to hope may be someday, my children will believe the chasm between things hoped for and real life is just a tiny crack in daily living.

Good Stories and Good Readers

2008-12-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for interesting stories. Trenton Lee Stewart wrote The Mysterious Benedict Society. It has been so interesting to listen to. My dad read it to me. It is about kids trying to stop bad messages from going to people's minds. The book made me feel intense, as in "on the edge" of falling over. It was supposed to be a bedtime story, but my brother and I couldn't stop ourselves from jumping up on our beds until my dad stopped reading each night. Books like that make life whole for me.

Generous Parents

2008-12-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for the gift of having parents that give me money. Because I love using the money to buy treats for my family and I love saving up for a diary I saw at Barnes & Nobel. It has a lock and a key. The diary's cover is very cute. It has a litte sad puppy on the front and there are words that say "My Diary" on the cover. The puppy's hair is blond. I will use the diary as a notebook, like lots of diaries are used. And that is what I'm thankful for.

Perseverance

2008-12-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our family ran "The Jingle Bell Run" in Balboa Park. It was a 5k, but I thought that was less than a mile. When I was passing the second mile, my daddy told me five kilometers is 3 miles! That's when I nearly fell over, I was so exhausted. Half a mile later I sped up and passed the rest of my family and finished before them. My time was 37:03. I felt proud and happy because I finished the race even though it was hard. When something is hard when you finish it, it makes you feel good. At least that's how it is for me.

My Birthday

2008-12-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for life. I've been on planet Earth for two short decades, and I am grateful for it all: the good, the bad, all of it.

Great Connections

2008-12-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

We spoke across continents at seventeen. Vance, a shiny, new college freshman in Southern California. I, a first term medical student in politically volatile South America. He drove in sunshine and smelled of chlorine and sand. I walked on cobblestone streets and smelled of formaldehyde and rain. Eight calls a year, to talk of writing and lost dogs and sticky social situations. Eight calls, so optimistic and real; they were my connections to that other world,

where possibilites are weighed and pursued with no apologies.

thankful to be invited!

2008-12-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

i missed you guys so it's so nice to be part of the gratitude project, it makes me feel more connected w you! right now i am thankful for the way little river's voice sounds through the baby monitor. he makes a lot of noises in his sleep, clearing his throat and streching a lot, and i can hear all of them amplified on the monitor while i sit quietly in the living room doing baby-free activities. the monitor is so good that i can even hear him sucking on the pacifier, that makes a really cute sound.

No More Postum for Me

2008-12-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank all the wonderful people at WebMD and their physician editor Michael W. Smith for assuring me that drinking lots of java is good for me and naming Coffee, "The New Health Food". Being an American, it is much easier for me to enjoy coffee, post-positive research findings, rather than because it warms my body or soul.
I would also like to thank the lovely person (or people) who started and organized the Fair Trade Coffee movement, because as a citizen of the largest consumer economy in the history of the world, I am glad to know some poor farmer in Ecuador gets a little richer because of me.
Lastly, I would like to thank my local, and global, Starbucks for becoming the largest Fair Trade Coffee Purchaser in the Universe.
I guess life really is better with a little coffee...

A Cautionary Tale

2008-12-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for being able to share and for people who share.

Here is a story that will help you share more often:

A long time ago, there was a little boy who loved to share and he had a twin. There was one thing that was different between them. One twin liked sharing; one did not. So whenever they tried to trick their mom and tried to confuse her, she would just ask "Do you like sharing?"

If he said "Yes," she would know it was Parley.

If he said "No," she would know it was Farley. One day Farley was walking in the woods, because their family lived right at the edge of the woods. Suddenly, he felt a shadow. He looked behind him and there stood a bear. The bear said " If you don't share, I will rip you limb from limb.

And Farley said, "O.K., yes, I will share, or else you can rip me limb from limb."

From that day on, Farley shared all the time.

The end.

A Crowded Walk

2008-12-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my family, because when you are down they pick you up and turn you around. They give you things. You can share with them and they share with you. My family does everything together and nobody is left behind.

One time we went to a 5-K race, in my town. My extended family came along too. Nobody really ran at all because it was so crowded. So we ended up walking the whole way. I was grateful that we did the whole thing anyway because it was fun.

My Voice, Some Fruit and My Castle

2008-12-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for lots of holidays and I am thankful for my voice. Because it sounds beautiful and because I love having a voice because I can speak well. I am thankful for my voice because it is very, very fun having my voice.

I am thankful for markets and the fruit in them. Now I will tell a story:

Once we went to the market and we liked so many that we bought all the fruit in all the town. The sellers said, "You have to give some of the fruit back to others, because we have no fruit left."

We gave them a piece of orange and they said "that is not enough. Because it is very important for people to have food."

We said, "We will give everybody some at our castle. So we can all survive at our big castle." The end.

Fruit

2008-12-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Fruit is sweet as sugar, and colorful as flowers;

A peach, warm and fuzzy and orange, fresh from the tree;

An orange, (really orange!), fresh from the sun and the tree.

Apples, plums, pears, guavas, mangoes, nectarines,

mulberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, grapes

watermelon, avocadoes, mandarins, tangerines...

...all of these and many more are the best.

Fruits are beauty, food and color. All these fruits make me happy!

I think of sugar, sun and rain and rainbows and anything else that is happy, when I eat a delicious fruit.

People Who Play With Me

2008-12-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my baby, and Savi up in heaven and I am thankful for Merlin, our dog who used to live with us. And I'm thankful for Christmas and for all the holidays that we have. And I am thankful for my mom and dad and my family. I am thankful for everything because it is so great to have people around us and I am always happy when people play with me. And most of all because the little boy Tasman plays with me whenever he comes over. I am not sure how old he is, but you can ask him when he comes over. If he doesn't know, ask his mom or dad. All the families and children in the world like to play with me, because they love me. That is the thing about life.

Inside My Shelter Listening to Stories

2008-12-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for a warm and happy shelter. And I am thankful for the happy people inside that shelter. And I love listening to my MP3 player, on speaker, because when I put it on speaker I can share the story I'm listening to with others.

Opera Lessons

2008-12-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

I sit on the sidelines, during opera lessons, while my children "blah, blah, blah" their way through scales. I sit and learn one must not look towards the sky even when hitting the highest note. I learn one never lingers on a note causing throat pain and one never actively searches for a note in song; the soma does the job on its own.

So tonight I sang carols at the local church, with my head level. I must have sounded like an angel from Dante's heaven when I held the final note to "Silent Night" three seconds longer than my neighbor. I sure am grateful for those lessons.

Choice

2008-12-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

I believe in free will; be it illusion or reality. The idea that each moment I write the next line of my life can redirect a dark action or thought. I may not control the sun, the ocean or a loved one's sadness, but I control how I react to such grand forces. I believe in second chances and restitutions
and happy endings. And that how I react, changes everything. For this I am grateful.

Flowers

2008-12-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for flowers and the color they bring to the world. You can make bunches of flowers, put them in vases, smell them or just look at them and all their color. We can give them as presents, or sell them, or keep them. We can pick them or leave them or even transplant them. But no matter what you do with them, they are always beautiful to me.

A Warm Bed

2008-12-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for a warm house and a nice bed to sleep in because some kids don't have those blessings.

Its All Fun

2008-12-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for friends, and people and pijamas and other stuff like that. I want to be very happy about that because all that stuff is wonderful. I really love how things are done and are supposed to be. All because its so fun and I love lots of things like that.

Tomorrow

2008-11-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for tomorrow's lunch. Savory sandwiches, vanilla milk and pink apples neat and tidy in a brown bag. All lovingly prepared by a handsome man with strong hands. A lunch ready and waiting for a final adventure before being devoured by a hungry family on their visit to Disneyland.
It is good to have a lovely lunch and lovely day to look forward to.

Some Great People

2008-11-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for nice friends and family.

My Piano

2008-11-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

I love my piano because I can write music, practice my lessons and go crazy on it. I can compose happy pieces and sad pieces. I love my piano also because it fills my life with joy and music. My piano might never be tuned right, because it is old, but I still love it anyway.

New Nikes

2008-11-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

I just bought a brand new pair of running shoes, and I'm grateful. These shiny trail shoes don't know the future drama and pure joy stored within them. I will sweat and hurt and run to avoid wild animals. I will think about the first marathoner ever, who died, at the feet of an ancient Greek Army Captain after running his first 40 kilometers to save an army.
I will remember running through icy rain on slick Los Angeles streets, unable to think in full sentences, but oh, so happy.
I will remember running, believing the worst was over and knowing, deep inside, my first child would live long and happy.
I will think, and remember and hope, in these new shoes. Because what is life without drama and joy?
And so, I am glad I have a new vehicle.

Banjo Blessings

2008-11-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Background music here - plunka, plink, i plunka, plinkity... turkey in the straw. I'm grateful for my banjo.
I believe banjo music cures depression, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, cellulite, and colon cancer. Important researchers and I have shown that a three second banjo lick can put a smile on anyone's face. Historians at a big university reported that Mona Lisa smiled because Leonardo hired a banjo player for background music.
I once was ignorant. Now I know. Banjo is good for my brain too. Since I started playing banjo I've found my lost keys, figured out why the well went dry, and started writing amazing stuff. I've even invented a dozen cool things you can do with picks on your fingers. Since typing is not one of them, I'll get back to picking now.

Rain

2008-11-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

The rain came last night, and I am grateful. The earth sings this morning. The fragrant dirt is moist and dark and alive with dancing worms. The air brisk and bright, and the future filled with greens sprouting where only dry yellow plant skeletons stood. Rain is hope to us in Southern California.
What a lovely gift to receive on Thanksgiving Day.