Sixty Six

As I turn 30 years old today (after 36 years of experience), here are 66 reasons to be thankful for, and which make me happy, (in no particular order): Being born in a loving family – celebrating Mass - painting watercolors – loving strawberries – working in 7 parishes in the USA – doing calligraphy – hearing marching bands in Malta – photography – having over 1600 CDs – leading people in prayer - using fountain pens – e-mail – having 2 nephews who are now doctors – my IPad – preparing homilies – taking part in 3 NYC marathons – driving safely over a million miles in the USA – driving nervously yet cautiously for 4 miles in Malta – playing the flute – Laurel and Hardy movies – watching ‘Ben Hur’ – listening to Bach’s B Minor Mass and Berlioz’ Requiem – wearing sandals – being chaplain at Hilltop Gardens – receiving e-mails from my friends in the USA – keeping my blog going since 2012 – donating 118 pints of blood – renovating the Cathedral in Baker City – following Baseball, Football and Golf – saying the Rosary daily – helping people through counselling – presenting PowerPoint talks – visiting Maltese churches during festa season – watching Mr Bean movies – Cadbury hazelnut chocolates – cold weather – watching Giro d’Italia and Tour de France on TV – cooking lentil, chicken and vegetable beef soups – writing in Lehen is-Sewwa for over 33 years so far – collecting photos of Emvin Cremona’s paintings – riding a horse in Central Oregon – preaching – celebrating meaningful weddings and funerals – yoga and walking – the ‘save’ button on a computer – DAB Radio – old-time cassettes – walking barefoot on the sand – watching and playing table-tennis and snooker – eating a healthy salad and hobz biz-zejt – non-smokers – Adolphe Bouguereau – eating rabbit stew and octopus stew – keeping prayer journals – writing e-mails to friends with photo attachments - creating personal prayers for Mass – listening to anything by Vivaldi and Rossini – my recorder app – listening to my IPod with headphones – praying with background music – leading retreats – visiting the Vatican – hearing confessions – short sleeves – Kinnie – working on my lap-top – staying healthy.