grateful for time

It was slow, rolling and painful, the news coming out of Iowa City starting on Monday morning. I am glad now the news has stopped, and there seems little chance of learning anything more that might explain what happened. I am grateful that I'm not still toggling back and forth between the two newspapers and local television channels' websites, trying to learn the latest from so far away. But this week, I wish I had been with my Iowa City friends. It would have helped to honor and remember my ex-father-in-law, and to be with friends and colleagues whose connections to the Sueppels were stronger than my own. I'm grateful it is easier at the end of this week than it was at the beginning to appreciate the simple things that make living so sweet--the color of the sky, the cacti trying to blossom, the caring of others.