April 15

I'm grateful that in the government's eyes it's not really April 15 and my taxes aren't actually due until Monday.

I'd rather do dishes than file my tax return. And I hate dishes.

April 14

Speed doesn't tend to improve when you do a job only once or twice a year. It took me far too long to finally get this surveying instrument centered and leveled over the post we'd pounded in last fall. And then, within seconds of taking the first shot of the wetland's boundary, the dark clouds overhead let loose a couple of raindrops.

Electronics and water don't mix very well and I'm grateful that the sprinkle didn't turn into a full-fledged rainstorm. Although I bet if I had been forced to tear the machine down and start over later, I would have managed to get the machine set up in half the time it took me this morning!

April 13

I'm grateful that the orthoped's exam room had a floor to ceiling window and the tree just outside was full of baby leaves.

I'm also grateful that I don't have to rescind Monday's Gratitude because even though the radiologist found something "suspicious" in those x-rays, the follow-up with my orthoped confirmed that it was still just a bad sprain. I get to clomp around in one of those lovely black boots for a week but the show will go on!

April 12

When I turned 30, the extent of my celebratory reveling included cake and ice cream followed by the prompt putting up of my poor pregnancy-swollen feet. But when baby brother Pat turned 30, he decided to memorialize the event with skydiving in Hawaii!

I'm grateful today that 1) he and his wife, Kellie, made it safely to the ground and in one piece, and 2) that his cute little butt joined our family during the Easter season of 1976. Happy Birthday Patty-Boy!

April 11

Let me introduce you to the woman continuing the Almost Broadway vision: Inne.

Inne stepped up to the plate last year when the previous director retired and moved out of state. She has spent countless hours writing the screenplay, finding the performers, scheduling the practices, overseeing the multitude of behind-the-scene stuff that people tend to forget needs to happen to pull off these types of performances, and a whole host of other things that I don't even have a clue about but are necessary for success.

And on top of all that, she makes a damn good quiche.

Today I'm grateful for the dedication of all of the Broadway movers and shakers, but in particular, the level of commitment Inne models for all of us.

April 10

When I was younger, there were numerous trips to the ER for X-rays after injuries, but never once did I end up with anything broken. I had a raging case of cast-envy then and I can remember WISHING that the doctor would come back and tell my mother, "I'm sorry, but your daughter has broken her bones and will require much casting."

Then I grew up. And suddenly, the doctors began coming back from x-rays with shocking news.

After sledding for the first time: "Yup. You broke your thumb."

After missing the first step of the neighbor's stoop: "Your foot is broken."

After tripping in the dark down our basement stairs, "I'm sorry, but you've really done a number on your wrist, it will require surgery."

So this weekend, after rolling my ankle while we were practicing Fiddler's Tradition (taking out nearly the entire line of Mamas in my spectacular fall to the gym floor) and waking Monday with lots of swelling and pain, I was worried enough to get it checked.

I'm grateful that a doctor finally said, "Well, I see nothing broken." And I'm hoping that I am finished with the "bad things happen in threes" thing and future x-rays will all reveal intact bones!

April 9

This weekend I got to play with Hart's 70-200 lens. I'm grateful that my uncle's heavy-duty Italian-made tripod was in the basement because it made learning how to shoot the moon infinitely easier.