Things to give thanks for

Every day that dawns. The Harvest Moon this past week. The fact that Monarch butterflies, blue jays and crows are making a comeback in Toronto. Lots of laughter. Curiosity. A civil society with few guns. Yoga.

Any book about LBJ or Winston Churchill. The lyricism of A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman. The authority of the New Yorker and the quirkiness of the London Review of Books. Reading The Great Gatsby or The World According to Garp every few years.  My daily giornata. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Church bells and familiar hymns.

Crisp McIntosh apples. Cranberry sauce. Butter tarts from The Bakery in Flesherton. A Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz’s. Corona beer or a well-mixed Manhattan. Meat pies from Weil’s of Westdale. Anything at Quality Italian.

Walking barefoot on a beach in February. Wearing my Canada Goose parka the next week in Toronto. New York City anytime. Pontormo’s Deposition from the Cross in Santa Felicita, Florence. The autumn leaves in the Gatineau hills. Getting home safely.

The love of family. A few good friends. A partner with whom to share your life. Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Neighbours who look out for you. The guys who cut my grass and shovel my snow. Rosa’s soup. My parents who showed me how to be and gave me the greatest gift of all: life itself. Good health. All the things yet to see.