Lessons in Gratitude

Last week I got a text from Corona Gail. "Let's have lunch today. Meet Deb and me?" You see, Lunch Bunch was cancelled that day. However, Corona Gail and Deb, the Queen of the Coronas were hungry. They thought to include me. Just me. Not 25 other people we all know. 

Just me. That isn't a humble brag. It is a floored realization someone thought enough to invite me to lunch. 

I process this often. Each time I'm overwhelmed in an abundance of gratitude. 

After living in the same place for 50+ years and then starting over, I never take for granted these kinds of invitations. The invite from Krissy for a Girl's Trip to Branson and another from Deb to tag along to Little Rock for the day. The plants dropped off on my doorstep from Master Gardener pals. A local writer sending me a sample from his book and asking for my opinion. Calls, texts and follow-ups from those who heard I'd been battling some sort of weird fatigue/infection (I'm better now). Even a simple last-minute invite for tea makes my heart swell.

But it isn't just the folks I met here. This entire experience intensifies how much I cherish the friends I left back in Arizona. I don't think a day goes by where I don't have flash memories of homeschool park days, meeting up for tea or lunch, hiking, chatting with a Bonus kid's mom, great real estate clients, and other moments with the ones who helped shaped me and loved me first. Moving here has given me a deeper appreciation for those I left behind. 

Here's the ugly truth: Though Texarkana was 100 percent Marty's idea--he was raving about this place as early as 2014--he doesn't like it here. I doubt, long-term, we are staying. This isn't the same kind of wanderlust we had when we were in Arizona and wanted out. I'm resigned to this fact and I won't talk him out of it. It's okay. There are legitimate reasons to leave--though it will break my heart to do so. 

A future move isn't happening today, tomorrow or next year, but I know it is on the docket when he retires. What I've discovered with this bit of knowledge I don't share beyond my family and this blog, is that invitations like Gail's last week are so much sweeter, knowing there may come a time when I'm going to have to start over again and navigate through new relationships again. I don't take these invitations for granted and I'm beyond grateful to be included.