For the next 365 days, I’ll be participating in Schmutzie’s Grace in Small Things project, an project highlighting the small good things that happen everyday. As Schmutzie writes,

“The world we live in is loud and harsh and bright and demanding, and it is easy to slide into a less than thoughtful survival mode in which we do what we have to do to make it through the day with the least amount of strife possible. This robs us of the time and energy to be mindful of ourselves and those we love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things.”

So here goes. Day one:

1. Felix Sockwell and Thomas Fuch’s Deconstructing Dumbo, which satisfies some deep down humor/miniature image circuit in my brain.

2. My housemate’s cat, Phoenix, who has taken to sleeping at my elbow during the day, and who has prominent fangs.

3. The sky outside, which is perfectly gray today.

4. Spelling gray with an ‘a’, which makes me think of my mother.

5. The jumbo box of goldfish crackers that Hope brought home from Costco the day after Nine died, just for me.

5a. Celebrating the life of a tremendously fat cat by consuming as much food as I possibly can.