Grateful Life

Many friends are posting a different thing they are grateful for each day on Facebook, which is inspiring and fun, but since I tend to be wordy, I think I'll use this space to put my thoughts on the subject all in one place. Truly, I am thankful for this life.

I know that's quite all-encompassing and vague, but how fortunate am I to wake up each morning and experience another day? 3 yrs ago, I feared I wouldn't be so lucky. How blessed am I to have loving family and friends, to be supported and encouraged in all of my endeavors and dreams, to have shoulders to lean on during the trying times? I have a roof over my head, food in my cupboards, books on my shelves, music in my life, and I live in a country and in an era where I'm free to be ME. Sometimes (and truthfully, it tends to be more than just sometimes), I get bogged down by the things I wish I had, and I know that's normal because we all have dreams but I'd like to try and be more thankful year-round, find the good in the every day and though it's challenging, focus on what I do have instead of what I don't.

I am grateful for my husband, for my parents and family, for my friends, for my furry babies who make me smile, and for the chance to be a better me every day. I'm thankful for the joy I get from cooking and baking, for the anticipation of snow this winter, for my pacemaker which keeps me tickin', and even for my curly hair that looks "fancy" when all I've done is wash it. I'm thankful for poetry, for my love of writing, for children's books, for beautiful abandoned barns, for Christmas music and Christmas trees, and for hot showers after being out in the cold. I'm thankful for my memories, for the hope of a bright future, for the opportunities that await me if I just get off my butt and chase after them. I'm thankful for all that my parents sacrificed for me growing up, for my education, for gardening, for crafts, for the beauty of the ocean, for my favorite spot in the Wilcox property back home, for my emotions and my ability and willingness to feel them. I'm thankful for the good times I've experienced, and I'm thankful for the hard times because they, too, molded me into who I am. I'm thankful I have goals, I'm grateful for the wisdom others have shared with me, and I'm thankful for the relationships in my life.  My health, my job, my car, the library. Cookies, the smell of coffee brewing, going out, movies, laughter, photographs, warm fuzzy blankets, mascara, pumpkins, autumn, earrings, various shades of red, flowers, the sound of a wind-chime, that surge of confidence when you look in the mirror and like what you see staring back.

I could go on, but you get the idea. It's this life, this one, beautiful life, that I'm thankful for. All of it's up's and down's, it's triumphs and disappointments, the big and the little, they're special and unique to me and I'm so very grateful for it all. Thank you for being a part of it :)