For the month of November I have joined Deborah's 30 Days of Thanks. For a long time I have thought about keeping a gratitude journal, but somehow I never got around to actually do that. Thanks to Deb, I finally found the motivation for doing so. Every evening I write into my regular journal what I am thankful for that day. It is such a good way to end the day before bed.
This has been the first week, and my biggest reason for gratitude is my family - my wonderful husband and my beautiful daughter. With either of them life wouldn't be as beautiful and full of joy and laughter as it is. I love my husband's odd sense of humor, his geekiness and the red shirts he prefers to wear. My daughter has a similar sense of humor and shares my husband's love for math and science. She is the biggest gift in my life, a miracle that I marvel about every single day (even when I'm mad at her). These two people are the center of my life.
I am thankful for another gorgeous autumn week here on the North Coast. I enjoy the still warm rays of sunshine and still hang out in my hammock whenever possible, covered with two blankets and the cat beside me. Oh, the cat, Geeda - after Ginger, "my" other neighborhood cat, had passed away last year's summer, I really missed a cat in my yard who would come to greet me in the morning and snuggle up in the afternoon. When Geeda suddenly turned up this April, she took this place of the visiting neighborhood cat. I actually think, if I let her she would move right in. I am so happy and thankful that this little white "monster" is part of my life (on her terms, of course).
This week I read a book about the Siege of Leningrad, and I thought how much we take for granted that we have food every day and don't have to go hungry. And I mean decent food - organically grown, cattle raised and kept under human conditions - at least that's the food I buy. I'm grateful that I have the means and the choice to do so. Healthy food is important to me, I want to feed my family good stuff, and I enjoy cooking. I hate throwing food away, so we also have leftovers in this house - you can make delicious meals out of them. I'm thankful for our dinners every evening and the breakfast on the weekends when we gather around the table, eat, talk and laugh. It's one of my highlights of the day.
I'm thankful for Deb's 30 Days of Thanks as a kick in my butt to finally get me started on my gratitude journal.
10 comments:
I'm so pleased for you, Carola. Gratitude is the truest way to find happiness—the heart-overflowing kind of happiness everyday life can bring us if we let it.
I'm also very glad you have Geeda visiting you. She is quite the character, and I'm sure she enjoys your company as much as you enjoy hers.
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
What you describe is idylic and I am happy for you to have it all.
I am amazed that the "neighboring cats" spend time hanging out with you as you say...how sweet is that!
Might you sometime adopt one of your own I wonder?
You really work wonders with your camera girl....what a shot! Family is everything ohhh, and of course our visiting kitty kats....doncha just love em:)
Dearest sweet Carola, such a beautiful post and a sweet reminder of a beautiful sentiment! I keep a little gratitude book and jot down little things i am grateful for each day. The 30days of Thanks sounds inspiring and such fun! Enjoy! :) Happy weekend sweet friend and Love to you!
Carola,
I really enjoyed reading your post, learning about your family and the cats. The comments about having food to eat really struck me. We take so much for granted, don't we?
This daily practice of gratitude really lifts the soul. Once when I was going through a very difficult time in my own life I started making lists each night before bed about what I was grateful for. That simple act helped drag me up out of the depths of despair. I'll never forget how powerful that was.
Thank you for joining me in the Thirty Days of Thanks, and for linking to me.
this is an amazing photo, such warmth in it
what a beautiful photo Carola!!! I loved hearing your gratitude list... especially about your family. Mine is at the top of my gratitude list too! :D
This photo tells me why lighting is an important factor for a great photo...love the shadow n lighting!
What a great idea, Carola, to be writing every day this month about what we're thankful for. I love that you have a home full of happiness, as do I. I can't think of anything more wonderful than that, since it's our everyday life. Thanks for sharing!
I do something similar every year in December. I try to focus on things and people I'm thankful for...
It's a good way to see everything from a new perspective, so I hope you'll enjoy it.
A beautiful post.
Post a Comment