I admit that I often grumble when I have to come up to the castle for work --the time I have to allow, the gaggle of tourists on the trolley car, the late end time -- but tonight I was early and I was able to stroll the grounds, gaze at the vista of red roofs and church spires and hills and river and renew my conscious appreciation of just how beautiful this place is. Feeling so grateful that I was given the opportunity to live in such a place, and to make my living as an opera singer no less, a near impossibility in the USA. I will never stop loving the US, or feeling its pull in my bones, but we have so much to learn. Feeling grateful for a country that treats all its citizens, not just the wealthy and powerful ones, with kindness and human decency. Feeling grateful for a society that still values and supports classical music. Feeling grateful for the wonderful women I work with -- their warmth and acceptance and our sense of community. And feeling grateful for our amazing German healthcare, a healthy baby boy, and a wonderful wife to raise him with. I feel so full in my heart tonight it almost hurts.