I love you!

I love you!
Originally uploaded by shrnmc

For which I am constantly grateful!

Christmas is sorted and packed, and if I remember what I did today, should be much more inviting to UNpack next year ... instead of a job filled with trepidation and near-dread. I'm looking forward to setting up the tree we bought and actually trimming it with the ornaments we decided today to keep because they were beautiful, or meaningful, or both.

Jobs - back to it tomorrow, with the mindful, active, conscious thought that we are fortunate to have them to return to.

Wonderful holiday memories - good times with those I love most in all the world, and warm greetings exchanged with others I love who are farther away.

Movement - staying home is restful, but restful isn't what the body needs 24/7/365. Time to move!

Clean sheets - when the mind goes blank because contentedness sets in, I fall back on the pleasures that are simple and that I otherwise tend to take for granted.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Today, I am abundantly grateful for:

1. A warm, dry, pleasant home to live in.

2. Enough of everything I need and most of what I want in life.

3. A good-hearted, warm, loving, caring, wonderful husband.

4. Two fabulous daughters, a perfect son-in-law, two great stepsons and their families -- all of whom I love dearly.

5. A full heart and a body that works pretty darned well, all things considered.


And I'm aware these are not in order of priority, either.

Renaissance Faire Fun

"Barely Balanced" -- "sharp knives and dull humans"

For accomplishments, challenges, travel, and gifts

It's been a long time since I've posted to my gratitude journal. Sometimes, the "speed of life" prohibits stopping long enough to share ... even though I am mindful of my gratitudes, most of the time, I don't always get a chance to point them out to others.

So, here ... from the last month:

I'm grateful for another year ... a birthday for me, and one for John, and another year of being married to this man I love so much. Another year with our loving, beautiful, talented, and dearly-cherished daughters, as well.








I'm grateful for my kitty (Mack) cooperating with my psychic messages begging him to continue eating, despite our extended absence on vacation and my subsequent travel for a work-related conference. He's doing just fine, although he does tend to insist on his special food treats, and has enjoyed sleeping for the last three nights smack-dab on my chest!



I'm grateful for a successful Summer Assembly, and for the presence of mind, for whatever reason, of not accepting more responsibility for next year than I already had. And for time to spend with people I care about, but see only once a year. For time to "just be me," and relax, if only for moments at a time.












I'm grateful for the opportunity to travel to a new place with an adventurous companion who led me to meet Lake Superior again, after almost 30 years; and with a delightful coworker I only get to see a few times a year.









I'm grateful for the artistic talents of people I don't even know, but have the good fortune to meet occasionally at street fairs and art fairs, and those I will never meet whose works have brightened my waiting hours at the Duluth airport.







I'm grateful for the magic (science that I don't understand) that allows planes to fly, and therefore allows me to see the earth as the living organism she really is, and us as an infinitesimal part of her enormous awe-inspiring "being."





I'm grateful for the opportunity to practice loving detachment as my youngest angel tries her wings, and I hope we have established strong enough "roots" for her to feel confident that we are here for her, whatever her path.





And I am grateful for family time, enjoying silly things and laughter together. Making memories is much more important, I believe, than being practical.

Reality Check

I've been trying to lose weight. But not trying very hard.

I've had a sore throat and some congestion in my chest, so I've been indulging in self-pity along with self-care.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, thinking about how peeved I've been with committee work for our summer camp, how half-hearted have been my attempts to eat right, how much energy I've poured into nursing hurts and complaints.

The other reason I woke up at 5:30 is that I am haunted by yesterday's Oprah show. (http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200706/tows_past_20070601.jhtml)

The woman who sat by the side of the road holding her decapitated daughter's head in her lap said that she didn't want to be this way, but what on earth can her friends or anyone say to her about a rough spot in their marriage or a hard day at work, or even parenting challenges. "Are they kidding me?" she said. She hears everyone saying it's been two years since the drunk driver crashed head-on into the limo she and her family were in, on their way home from her sister's wedding ... but for them, it doesn't seem like two years. The sentencing hearing for the drunk driver was just last month -- for them, time is different. This is fresh, and may never ever ever ever heal.

I thank every known and unknown power in the universe that my life is simple, uncomplicated, and untouched by the depth of grief and tragedy I witnessed in that family yesterday.

I resolve to stop whining, stop feeling sorry for myself, and step up to making my wonderful life even more wonderful by getting healthy and keeping things in perspective.

My life is good, and I am so thankful for it and every blessing in it ... especially the people.

Sunny Day

1. The 3.5" of snow that fell earlier in the week is almost totally gone, and the grass is so green!

2. The overly-blue fountain at UWM was already running today. The water is the color of a swimming pool, but it sounded so cheerful and was beautiful in the sun.

3. John and I went to lunch at Sala de Pranzo ... good minestrone, good pasta, good company.

4. I'm so relieved that Mack is better, and eating, and drinking ... I can't stop smiling.

5. Productive days at work!

6. Lots of good things in abundance in my life! Food, cuddly kitties, loving friends and family, wonderful spouse, comfort, and gratitude.

Kitten Chow!

Thus far, today, I'm grateful for:

1. Purina Kitten Chow -- which is what my sick cat, Mack, chose as his first ORAL intake in a L-O-N-G time ... about a month.

2. Friends, family, and colleagues who have been wonderfully supportive during Mack's illness. It's been a roller coaster ride of emotions and physical challenges ... not as huge as being the caretaker of small children or sick elders, but a challenge nonetheless. Sharing the ups and downs with caring others has certainly lightened the load.

3. Perspective -- which allows me to understand and appreciate that, in the grand scheme of things, a sick cat ... even a dying cat ... is only earth-shattering for a few of us.

4. Self awareness -- which allows me to understand and appreciate that I work best when I'm focused almost obsessively on an attainable goal, like giving my cat enough nutrition to survive until he will again eat enough on his own to survive and thrive. It's not as overwhelming as "save my cat's life," and not as discouraging as "save the world."

5. The jukebox in my head. Today's song is "Feelin' Groovy."