Contemporary self-help books and internet blogs are full of the word “gratitude” these days. Helpful advisors and happiness gurus ask us to be grateful for what we have rather than dwell on what we do not have. They are right, of course, we should be grateful. But I prefer to fall back on my mother’s simpler reminder to count my blessings. While this expression has become a cliché, it is nonetheless a wise one.

This holiday season, I made a list of small blessings that have come to me. They are based in my daily life here in Brunswick: people and places that touched me and made me feel connected to others and lucky to be alive. Here is my list; perhaps you have your own.

Maine Street and the Mall

While most towns in Maine have spruced up their main streets since I was a child, the advent of shopping malls located on the outskirts of towns has often reduced main streets to half-forgotten places full of vacancy signs. Not so our Maine Street, which, despite the bustling shopping area at Cooks Corner, is still a vibrant place to shop and dine. The Mall, with its gazebo and enough green space for everyone to enjoy, is a gem.

I remember a beautiful day last September when the Brunswick Downtown Association hosted a barbeque at the Mall, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers, tables staffed by non-profits dispensing information, and the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra in concert. It was an unforgettable day of community made richer by its being celebrated in the heart of town.

The postman and the USPS

We love to make jokes about the mail being late or mishandled, but I like the constancy of our postman and admire the staff at the main post office. Employees on the front line of any enterprise have a difficult job: we customers can be a testy lot. But even as mail is delivered through sleet and snow amid dire predictions about the future of the USPS, the post office keeps on keeping on. Even if my occasional conversations with the postman are always short and inevitably about the weather, they make me feel good.

The wait staff at Sea Dog

I am a member of a political discussion group that meets weekly and then has lunch at Sea Dog. Before the pandemic, we came to know Erica, a member of Sea Dog’s wait staff, who quickly memorized our favorite drinks, even the meals many of us order regularly. Once we resumed our lunches after the COVID lockdown, Erica still remembered our favorites, and her colleagues do the same. These young people pay us senior citizens the highest compliment: they remember who we are and are glad to see us.

Gifted employees at Hannaford

Shopping at chain stores is often an impersonal experience. Most large stores could do a much better job training staff to engage with their customers. But two employees at the downtown Hannaford store in Brunswick stand out. Marjorie and Tony, who work as cashiers (until Marjorie moved to the pharmacy), talk and joke with their customers so naturally they must have been born with the gift of connecting with people. Their greetings and small talk are not fake; no one has trained them to chat with customers. This is who they are. Every time I see them they give me the feeling that I am the best thing to happen to them that day, and I smile.

Curbside at Curtis

I am a regular patron of Curtis Memorial Library and have always recognized its excellence. But even I was surprised at the Library’s ingenuity during the depths of the pandemic: its curbside delivery of books. When the Library closed to its patrons last year, my borrowing of books did not falter; the Library’s curbside delivery system was seamless. According to Curtis’s latest records, from July 2020 to June 2021, there were over 28,000 customer visits to pick up books at the curb outside the library’s main entrance. This library patron, among many others, is grateful.

A caring nurse at Parkview

I was an out-patient for a back treatment at Parkview medical center. I lay face-down on a treatment table while the doctor and his staff did their work and talked me through the process. Near the end of the treatment, one of the nurses quietly slipped her hand under the blanket covering me and placed it on top of my hand. She rested her hand on mine for quite some time; she did not speak. I was very moved by her gesture. I feel bad now: in the bustle of ending my treatment and my leaving, I did not ask who it was who comforted me. I wish I had thanked her for her kindness, especially now, when medical care often lacks the personal touch.

There you have it: a few small blessings in my small world. I finish by sending a word of thanks and encouragement to all local businesses who have worked so hard to adjust to customers’ safety needs during the pandemic. This has been hard work in a worrisome time, and our Covid worries will no doubt continue into next year. But let’s say it together: may 2022 be calmer, safer, and a bit easier for all of us. May we count our blessings.

Susan Mahoney Michael was raised in Aroostook County. After decades living in Colorado and Europe, she and her husband moved to Brunswick in 2013.

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