I have been struggling a bit this week. Something is wrong with my back – it hurts in ways that make it hard to move, but it gets worse the longer I hold still (like when I’m sleeping). I’m also fighting off a cold, with less success than I’d like. And, as often seems to happen after a vacation, all the little parts of my job that are frustrating and unsatisfying feel magnified right now.

So in light of all of this, I thought it would be a good exercise to focus this blog on a few things I’m grateful for today. In no particular order:

• Cooler weather. After several days of pretty unbearable heat and humidity that made me feel like I was constantly about to melt, the heat finally broke Tuesday night, and yesterday and today have been lovely. We were able to open the windows in our apartment and air the place out a bit, which has been really nice (and was really necessary).
• Musical encouragement. We’ve been keeping in touch with some of the friends we made at Song School as a way to encourage each other to keep writing. Also, at my agency’s employee appreciation event on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to perform one of my songs. It went well, and the feedback was really lovely and encouraging.
• Impending holidays. My favorite part about working for a Jewish agency is all the extra paid holidays we get off. The high holy days are coming up starting in a couple of weeks, and I don’t work a single five-day week in September. I am definitely looking forward to that.