The Book of Jubilations: Mark: I'm Grateful for Friday, and other things, December 4th, 2015

Sweet, merciful Lord, I'm grateful for Fridays in general, and this current job where I have every other Friday off, and this particular Friday morning where I'm laying in bed after a long week, taking time to be grateful. All of those things.

Zinnia is the second name of the first woman who gave me acupuncture. I went to her for several years in DC for wellness, insomnia, allergies and whatever ailed me. Having found her through the BCBS website, she was listed as "Constance," but when I called and asked for Constance, she said, "Yes, well, I changed it to Zinnia, the way we all do sometimes." What? Going to Zinnia for acupuncture always had the feeling of escaping an urban oasis. Her house was up in Cleveland Park, which was just outside my usual neighborhood, on a tree lined street. She's an artist, and creator, and unapologetically lets her freak flag fly. Last year, she moved to Spain to live near her son and his family, and I miss her in my life. This week, yesterday, she sent around a video poem that is just so her, about leaving her home in DC, and creating a new one in Spain. It reminded me of what it was like to be in her care, and if I could find a way to download it and loop it, I'd probably go to sleep to it everynight (for a bit). I'm grateful for her, for her particular creativity, and for the internet that sometimes delivers people unexpectedly into your inbox when you least expect them.