Floods. Damage to local businesses and homes. Fear for school safety. Tragedy and the power of Mother Nature put so many things in perspective.

When I get all in a bother about something, I ask myself, “How important is it really?” And when compared to severe tide surges and school tragedy, the answer often is, “it’s really not as important as it seemed a little while ago.”

And then I make myself a gratitude list (Pollyanna that I may be) and that really puts things in perspective.

What am I grateful for concerning Newburyport, MA? The people that live and work here (whether I agree with them on civic issues or not). The great beauty of this place and the historic parts of it, whether they are large or small, important or less important. (And a whole lot of personal gratefulness as well).

And I’m looking forward to what I call my “sanity walk,” where I walk around Newburyport, MA and meet and talk to all sorts of folks. Amble around our astoundingly beautiful neighborhoods, wander down to the mouth of the Merrimac River. And today I’ll listen for the surf again. Yesterday I could hear it all the way from the South End of Newburyport, MA.

And when I come back from my walk, I’ll sit down with a cup of tea and take another look at the paintings on my studio wall, and hopefully know which painting to work on next.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport