it's a beautiful day

I just heard this year's American Idol winner, Lee D??, sing his song, "It's a Beautiful Day", and when it ended I turned off the t.v.--I didn't want to hear about "home grown terrorists whose central headquarters is in Minneapolis", or about the market diving down each day like starving seagulls searching for absent fish. Nope, I wanted to start my day with the title of his song.

Because it rained last night (actually, it hailed too, but somehow the sound of hail, even the word, hail, is harsh and not lovely, like the word, rain); so, it rained in the desert, blew away the dust, settled the scents from trees and bushes, stirred up animal actions of frogs and lizard, cajoled the birds to sing with lustiness and lifted up the butterflies with more light and pollen-teasing on the subsequent breezes.

Because I took my 91 year old dad for a mammogram and ultrasound yesterday and he doesn't have cancer. Because I showed up for him even though my own trepidations of even walking into the radiologist's medical plaza incurs stress on my digestive system. Because I did community work last night with new colleagues I like, trust, respect and met people I didn't know but who care about their community and the lives of people who live on the other side of Tucson.

Because I can now make a decent omelet--thanks to Julia Child--and because the jam on my bread this morning tasted like farm jam my grandmother used to make.

Because my ankle stiffness is lessening, the aches are less harsh and I can function more normally in every day tasks.

Because I have friends, family and community that I belong to. Because I can read and write and explore new worlds by putting words and thoughts together.

It is a beautiful day. Because I said so.