Grateful to be seated

A week or so ago, Paul Campbell SJ at People for Others posted a list of 10 things he was grateful for, and encouraged readers to do the same.  I loved the things big and small that people were thankful for in their lives — from their cameras to their children to the feel of the cool, damp air of morning on their faces that one morning.

I did the exercise that was suggested, then set to preparing for a talk that was I giving to celebrate my appointment to a named chair. I made the usual acknowledgements slide — a formal list of collaborators and funding sources for the projects I'd spoken about.  But as I looked at it, it seemed like not quite enough for this occasion.  And so I started typing.  A list of everyone I could think of who had encouraged and supported my work as a scholar of chemistry and as a writer.  Family and friends and teachers and editors and readers and collaborators.  A litany of gratitude....