Dear George,
I recently ran across a study that concluded that people who give weekly thanks for events in their lives are physically and mentally healthier than those who don’t. Ever since I started this blog I give thanks once a year around Thanksgiving time. That’s probably not as beneficial as once a week, but I’m sure it helps somewhat. Usually many of my thanks have had to do with the past, e.g., parents, school, job, parenting. This time I decided to concentrate on the here-and-now. Here’s what I’m thankful about in 2022.
First of all, I owe gratitude to my doctors whose interventions have kept me alive, and I thank the Mercy Health Plex fitness center for helping keep me in reasonably good physical shape. I’m particularly happy about starting my Zumba class again after a long layoff during the pandemic.
I owe most thanks for love and respect from my immediate and extended family members: Katja, J and K and kids, Vicki, my siblings’ spouses and families, Ami and David Werrin and families. While we’ve lost many friends in the last decade, it’s been rewarding to continue FaceTime contacts with a couple of my long-time friends.
I’m thankful to the University whose retirement package provides us with financial security.
While impersonal, I’m thankful to the Internet and to television for lots of rewarding activities. It’s amazing how the Internet has transformed our lives, with immediate access to weather reports, movie and TV reviews, travel planning, local and national news, poems of the day, and research on any question of interest. Likewise television resources have increased tenfold or more in the last decade, with unlimited content from PBS, Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Hulu, and AMC+.
A lot of my quality of life these days is tied to my and Katja’s participation in OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute sponsored by the university. I take a poetry writing class every term, as well as offerings in literature and art. It’s a lot like being in college all over again, minus homework, exams, and grades.
I’m thankful for our miniature schnauzer, Iko, who provides me with exercise and ever-loyal affection day in and day out.
For their help in making me a more “cultured” person, I’m thankful for the Cincinnati Art and Taft Museums and the Cincinnati Symphony and Linton Chamber Music series.
Cutting across all of this, I’m thankful to be retired. While I enjoyed my job and was nervous about its ending, the freedom I enjoy to engage in whatever I please is delightful. A true blessing.
Love,
Dave
