Welcome to Gratitude Gems, where I show a little appreciation for the good things in my life!

For the month of April, we’re in between rentals so we’re staying at my brother’s house with his family, and they sure live in a beautiful part of the city.  Out their back door, their yard backs onto a green space (though not quite as green yet as it will be later this summer) complete with paved trails around three little ponds where ducks and geese nest.  In the mornings when the sun sparkles on the water, the view is entirely serene.  Over the course of the day there are random people using the trails and families checking out the ponds, skipping rocks or steering their remote-controlled boats.  Looking out there makes me forget that we’re in a city.  When I’m done work, it doesn’t just feel like I’ve gone home for the evening… it feels like we’ve left for a weekend away.

Yesterday Tavis and I took full advantage of the beautiful spring weather and took our niece and nephew to the nearby park in the morning, and then in the afternoon we picked pussy willows and threw rocks in the water and walked around the ponds.  Afterwards we sat in the backyard and hydrated – juiceboxes for the kidlets and beers for us.  It was a perfect day, and we didn’t even have to drive anywhere.

I enjoy living in the city, mainly for the convenience of being close to friends, family, and amenities.  But the country is definitely where I’d rather be.  Lucky for us this month, we have the best of both worlds.

S