I know it’s been a while–sorry about that. A lot has been going on since -19-. I had a class to finish up, jury duty to not get selected for, a poem to publish at thekindling.org, and a host of other things. Most of those things would make many mere mortals question the central tenet of my belief system (that God is good): all three of our cars, two and a half of our children, and one marriage-in-law have all broken down since last Thursday. And, as if that wasn’t enough, today my wife called me at work to let me know that, when I get home, I’ll have to dispose of the opossum-sized rat that met its demise in my living room some time last night. How’s this for pathetic: we literally have more dead rats than dollars.

Happily, I’m no mere mortal. I count it all joy. I have:

• excellent rat traps
• a living room in which rodents can expire
• a job which will pay me tomorrow
• health insurance
• spare children (one for each day of the week)
• poetry that wants out
• a wife who loves me (me!)

I’m sure it sounds like I complain a lot, but I’m not really complaining. Not really. I’m blessed and I know it.

I could have been on trial like the guy whose jury I’m not on. I could have lost steady writing gigs like Mark Shea and Simcha Fisher. I could have lost my children or not been able to have any like some of my friends. I could have been bad at wordplay like Alishia Hanson*. I could have been blind-sided by divorce like my brother-in-law, one of the finest men I know.

But I wasn’t and I didn’t, so I’m grateful.

*just checking to see if Alishia still reads this!