Saltwater Air

After today’s post, I’ll be disabling the email feature for most of November during #NaBloPoMo — in the interest of reducing your inbox overload. But don’t worry, posts will be up each night for you to read!

This morning I had an idea for a blog post that I began mentally writing. Halfway through brushing my teeth, I completely forgot what my initial point of the article was. (Fingers crossed it comes back to me — either sometime this month or after.)

As I took my time getting ready in the morning, I found myself reflecting on gratefulness. While daily gratitude journals were never my thing, I appreciate the gift I have of seeing the little things and the beauty they make — things often overlooked.

So today’s post is more of a gratefulness post, a reflection of what it means to appreciate and use our privileges responsibly, even in the darkest hours.

I felt the gratefulness of being able to drive a car to my local grocer, afford the ingredients I would soon use to prepare a home-cooked meal for my mom and I. There was immense gratefulness for the ability to complete my daily five miles, at the clean accessible beach, even under the first drizzle of California rain.

I stood there, overlooking the Pacific, inhaling that salted air as the droplets kissed my face, and I remembered how someone told me — as my father was dying — that I should take him to the ocean because the saltwater air could heal him. Despite knowing an ocean’s breath couldn’t cure stage four brain cancer, I always wish I could have taken him to witness, for the last time, the beauty of one of his most favorite places. He would have loved to say goodbye.

Gratefulness enveloped me when doctor number who-knows called me to let me know biopsy 1 of 3 is negative. Gratefulness enveloped me even more so when my brother — amidst his stress — said aloud, “Hey, Dania, you’re someone smart I can always turn to,” and proceeded to ask for my insight on something work related.

Here’s to remembering gratefulness and a #FreePalestine!