Last night I woke around 2:00 am and couldn’t get back to sleep right away, but it turned out to be a wonderful occasion for gratitude. My back has been a little sore recently, but as I lay in bed last night waiting for sleep, I felt grateful that I felt no pain whatsoever. I lay in complete comfort and peace in my cozy bed, even though I knew I would probably feel some pain if I changed positions. I knew there were probably millions of people, right at that very moment, who were suffering extreme back pain, and so I breathed a sigh of thankfulness for my own relatively comfortable situation.

I had a cup of tea with Matt yesterday afternoon. We sat in my apartment in the pleasant early evening lamplight and talked about many things. The tea was tasty and comforting amid all the cold and snow, and our companionship, I knew, was a gift to be cherished.