This lovely review appeared in my inbox this morning from the South Bergenite/NorthJersey.com. The reviewer says: “At times heart-achingly poignant, at others heart-meltingly sweet, "Find the Good" reminds us those last words will come soon enough, far too soon for some, and charges us with the responsibility to not only live a life worth writing about but to recognize and honor those people who matter to us while they're here to appreciate it.”

That's what Chip asked me when I told him I swam hard for an hour straight  in the pool this morning.

"You don't want to know," I told him. The harbor project was on my mind, particularly preserving the beauty of the waterfront.  But there are so many questions no one seems to be able or willing to answer. The  meeting on it this week did not reassure me.

Then there’s the giant parking lot with the outhouses and picnic tables on it where the Picture Point Park is supposed to go.

I wanted to say something at Fireman Al’s retirement party yesterday. Something about how he saved my life, and something about how he not only responds when living people need help in an emergency, but that he is the one who shows up when they die, at home, in bed, or in many other, less gentle ways, and how solid he is then, when everyone around him is shattered. Al drives the hearse too—the old ambulance—to the cemetery, and helps lift caskets out and get them settled for the pallbearers. I wanted to thank him for that, and I should have.

"Believe today in all the good you have done, in all the good you have been, in all the good you are each and every day you wake to what God has called you to do." - Bishop Steven Charleston

It's a good thing it rained all day, because I didn't mind hanging out in the kitchen peeling and boiling potatoes and eggs and chopping celery and onion and mixing in what looked like a gallon of mayo and mustard and relish for the classic Firemen's Barbecue 'tub of tater salad' ( I am not alone, all over town windows are steaming up and cooks are saying, "Do we really add the whole jar of mayonnaise?" --And  Fireman Al says, "Yup."

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm 56, and very happy to have made it this far, thank you very much. I was sitting on the porch with a bunch of women friends gathered for Zumba and wine (my daughter is an instructor and gave the short, easy class for  we - mostly-- beginners in the backyard), and one friend looked at the fireweed blooming pink, and the river, inlet and mountains beyond, and said, "It's so beautiful I can't believe I live here." Then she said to me, "I have known most of these women since we were in our twenties.

"When all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view, I'm lost in wonder,love, and praise."

-- Joseph Addison

( Words to Hymn 415 in the Episcopal Hymnal)

It's been a big week. After re-testing, the town water turns out fine and perhaps always was. No one got sick and no babies or old people died. (I read too much about E.Coli outbreaks this week, as you can see.) 

I also said yes when Nelle called to ask if I'd help at the plate and bun table at the Friends of the Library 4th of July Picnic.

Boy is it windy-- gusting to 55 knots at the Eldred Rock lighthouse. It was work walking Pearl into the wind this morning. But we friends and dogs walked with light hearts from just living in these historical times-- what news-- gay marriage is legal in all 50 states. I won't forget the date either, because June 26 is our wedding anniversary. 33 years ago I chose to marry the person I love, and I can't imagine my life without him. Like the song goes, home is whenever I'm with him. It's great to know that now everyone in America can have that opportunity, isn't it?