Gratitude in the old growth forest

 I’m a list maker: to-do lists, wish-lists, prayer requests, priorities, and so on. I just made a (helpful, I hope) list of migraine triggers. And because this is Thanksgiving week, a gratitude list seems appropriate. (Hal helped me come up with this list.) I focus on the retirement community where we now live. This is a very particular old growth forest.

I’m thankful for….

--an environment that not only keeps me safe but encourages me to keep growing

--that my long-time husband is still my best friend and we get to share this apartment

--for the art studio in the basement that lets me (a non-artist) keep my own locker of art supplies, invites me to come down anytime to experiment with my own projects, encourages me to join classes and discover that maybe, just maybe, I am a sort of artist

--lots of new “best friends,” all of them in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. (I had thought “best friends” was a high school thing. Wrong.)

--the opportunity to listen, understand, and be present to my neighbors in good times and hard

--a library with a good selection and a flexible attitude toward late returns

--food that is almost always good and sometimes delicious

--a room with a view—trees, hills, a sky full of dancing clouds

--a cozy burgundy rocking chair that swivels to let me see the view (It’s my early morning prayer chair and my afternoon nap chair.)

--the path around the Hess Creek Canyon that feeds my need to be among trees on a regular basis and to hear water moving over the earth

--the critters that inhabit the secret spaces—deer, birds, squirrels, the occasional racoon

--the staff that works behind the scenes to make our lives comfortable: the women who clean our rooms, the man who replaced the handle on my refrigerator door when it broke off, the tech expert who solves my computer problems, the cooks and waiters/waitresses who prepare and serve our meals, the community life director who plans our outings, the gardeners who keep the place beautiful, and especially the nurses and aides who care for our most vulnerable residents.

--beautiful and sometimes intriguing works of art that decorate our lobby and all the residential halls. We live in an art gallery with free admission.

--our own lobby on the fifth floor where we congregate to have meetings, celebrate birthdays, pray together, and work (play) on puzzles

--free coffee down in the lobby

--our community garden where this year, for the first time, we had our own plot. Amazingly enough, things grew (roses, tomatoes, Inca lilies, green onions, wild flowers, and spaghetti squash, among other miracles).

--an exercise room with lots of machines and open space for courageous classes. My favorite machine (called the New Step) faces a window with a forest view. Forty-five minutes can pass without my realizing it.

--a woodshop where I (Hal) find a community of like interests and skills.

--an active residential association that lets us self-govern, plan our activities, and come up with creative ways to serve the community

--a resale shop and storage space that not only provide residents with a place to donate their furniture, clothes, and other items as they need to downsize, but offers bargain prices on really good stuff

--the security of knowing that as I continue to age and need different levels of care, this community will provide that. That’s the nature of a continuing-care retirement community. My kids and grandkids can come be with me, but they won’t have to take care of me. That gives me peace.

--the blessing of knowing that this community is Christ-centered and founded on values such as integrity, compassion, stewardship, community, excellence and service. I can live with that. I can grow old in this environment.

I hope this doesn’t sound like a publicity pamphlet. That’s not my intention, and that’s certainly not my favorite writing genre. And this community is far from heaven-on-earth. We have our fair share of problems, conflicts, and challenges. After all, we’re all people.

But my intention today is gratitude and the above list represents my true feelings. (Maybe I’ll write an angry list another day. Probably not.)

Thanks be to God for blessing us in this time of life. Life in this old growth forest is good.