Grateful, 2017 Version

On this last day of 2017, a year that EASILY makes my top 10 weirdest, I am worried about a LOT of things (that's another list), but also grateful about some others. Today, I will concentrate on the latter. Here is my list of top ten things for which I am grateful. It could probably be a top 14 or 19, but 10 is the agreed-upon arbitrary number for lists made this time of year. I'm an ex-rebel now. 

1.      I am grateful for Mercy, both the dog and the virtue. And if I had another dog, I’d name her Empathy.

2.      I am grateful for a handful of friends, without whom my life would be more chaotic. You know who you are.

3.      I am grateful for my old music business colleagues who stepped up this year to start The Shout Syndicate, to help raise money for youth arts programs in Boston, a sector that really needs the help in this particular funding landscape.

4.      I am grateful for people in the service industry: the guy who delivers my newspaper at 5 a.m. every day; the people who keep my house in good order and my car running, my clothes clean and presentable and my shoes in good working order; the woman who didn’t let me go gray; the people who look after the best girl ever when I can’t; the people who own and work at the restaurants and especially coffee places I patronize. And there are more.

5.      I am grateful for my brother and sister and sister-in-law, to whom I should talk more often. If you have lost your parents, you know how hard this can be. I’ve counseled many people to pay this extra attention, while I have not done enough myself. I will do better.

6.      I am grateful to my boss, who loves this City and does his best for its people every day, making difficult decisions often and enduring mean and blistering criticism sometimes. I am grateful for his one-day-at-a-time approach to life, and for his acknowledgement of the place from which anger sometimes comes. I am also grateful to him for letting me play a small part in what I think will be a great legacy, lasting long after we’re all gone.

7.      I am grateful for my colleagues, who are, by and large, dedicated public servants committed to making the world a better place. They are creative, caring and clever. I learn from them every day. Maligners don’t know what they are talking about.  

8.      I am grateful for my old community, the music misfits. It continues to amaze me that you can not see someone for a decade or two, and then reconnect as if you had just seen a show together yesterday, picking up right where you left off.

9.      I am grateful for good art, books and television that make me think and experience awe, and the smart people who make these things.

10.   I am grateful for good coffee. Life is too short to drink any other kind.

And, finally, I am grateful for MOST of you. 

Happy New Year!

4 responses
You are a good soul. Thank you for sharing this. Happy New Year! Claire
Really lovely Joyce. Found myself tearing up. Appreciate you!
Thanks so much for sharing this Joyce. I'm always rooting for you and grateful you are out there doing all that you do these days. Onward to 2018 and all the good that we can create. Melody
Hi; Very nicely done. My nephew Dennis McCarthy speaks of you often and about the good old days,his girlfriend is Jordan Valentine. Your boss is a great guy, he is lucky to have you on his team. Happy New Year to you and yours. Sent from XFINITY Connect Application