Seeds and Stars

Tonight I finally went through the two buckets of cold, orange slop from the jack-o-lanterns, so I could sort out the pumpkin seeds and toast them. As usual - even though every year we get tired of them and end up throwing most of them out after a while - the first hot, crispy bites as I pluck them off the cookie sheets were just awesome - salty, chewy, burning. A stainless steel bowl of them is sitting on my lap now, uncomfortably warming my left thigh. While the seeds were toasting, I took out the trash and looked up at the stars. I usually forget to, since I just hustle out with the trash and hustle back. It was almost cloudless. It made me want to always look up at the night sky - endless, mysterious, perfect. There are just so many things that make me feel grateful to be alive.