magic

Yesterday morning, I stepped outside to clear my head, and I saw

• a groundhog, who lives in a clump of trees in the neighbor's yard, scrounging for food
• no less than six squirrels, bounding across the grass
• a chipmunk scurrying from one bush to another
• a bird in a tree not ten feet from me, singing his heart out

and I felt like I'd stepped into an episode of Wild Kingdom. The world is a magical place, if you take the time to look.

I am utterly exhausted, but I have one more full day of work ahead of me. I have had an enormous amount of help, and I can't imagine how I could have done this alone. Tomorrow I'll get on a plane and start the difficult process of letting this all sink in. I'll talk to you all again, from the other side of the ocean, a.k.a. home.