Things I Learned in 2019

~Witnessing parents navigate the death of their child stills me.  2019 contained too much loss.

~Guiding couples on their wedding day as they make their sweet marriage promises is an honor like no other.

~ One-year-old flower girls understand their power.

~I am a ripe candidate for becoming a snowbird. 

~Standing in my backyard at dawn or dusk to watch the International Space Station flying  248 miles above leaves me awestruck.

~Text alerts stating when this orbital wonder will happen make me gleeful. (Thanks Starman!)   https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/signup.cfm

~Divided: we struggle.  Together: we conquer.

~When a 2 year-old wants to stand on the front lawn to touch the reflection of twinkling lights on Christmas Eve, I remember how wonder feels. 

~Living in a world where Joni Mitchell is still among us is enough.

~Listening to Brandi Carlile cover Joni Mitchell is the next best thing.

~Home ownership is tiresome.  

~My desire to experience Christmas elsewhere in the world is strong - maybe in 2020.

~Securing Newport Folk Festival tickets eight months in advance delights and sustains me.  

~Sharing this with my eldest, music-loving daughter boosts the delight factor by 100. 

~South Korea is on my daily radar while my youngest, adventure-seeking daughter follows the experiential narrative of her life while teaching there.

~Coldplay's latest offering- Everyday Life - is not what I expected. I am smitten.

~Lizzo is a juicy wonder. "If you feel like a girl, then you real like a girl, do your thing, run the whole damn world."

~The Daily (NYTimes) podcast is platinum-level news reporting. We must support the fourth estate (not state television) regardless of/and because of the colossal ignorance that wants to bury it.

~My 2-year-old grand nephew and 6-month-old grand-niece run the whole show.  Our family's role is strictly that of infatuated support staff. 

~The Met is a gorgeous Philly venue.      
                                                                           
~Parking my car for free near a South Philly subway stop and taking the subway to the Met is the best concert parking tip of the year. (Thanks Concert Guru!)

~Having to lock your phone away during a performance is l-i-b-e-r-a-t-i-n-g!

~Author and activist Glennon Doyle lives her truth as a Love Warrior.  She dazzled us at the Keswick Theater this summer. 

~She also has some amazing sports aptitude as evidenced in this tutorial given on the first day of the 2019 Women's World Cup.  (This video brings me joy.  Every. Single. Time. "Offside is a force that is beyond human understanding. Offside is a matter of spiritual surrender." )

Thank you, dear Reader, for taking time to read these meanderings. Peace in 2020. 
As we step into another decade, time, as usual, has the last word:

"Time is the substance I am made of.
 Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; 
it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; 
it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire” 
Jorge Louis Borges, Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings