A Broad Brushstroke of Gratitude

This is a post about gratitude.  Unconditional, unmeasured, unfettered gratitude.

I am grateful I continue to have agency over my own life--and all that entails.

I am grateful for the gift of a loving and good humored Spousal Unit™ with whom I share my Ground Hog's Day life.  In the midst of the maelstrom, he continues to be one of the nicest people I know.

I am grateful for every last dab of family, who frequently poke their heads up like the Meercats in Meercat Manor to check in with their fellow members of the bloodlines.  In that vein, I am grateful for friends who do the same.

I am more grateful than words can express for my grandchildren.  Not that I don't hold deep gratitude for my children, their parents, without whom I would not know the unbearable joy of being a grandmother,  However, the love I continue to harbor in my heart and secure in my soul for my children may have been multiplied, then surpassed by the love I have for my grandchildren.  All it takes is a few minutes with them and my heart sings.  So many times over the past nine months, seeing them has enabled me to feel like a human being again.

I am grateful I am aware that my trials and tribulations during this time of COVID-19 fall exclusively into the category of "First World Problems Experienced By A White Woman of Privilege."  I continually wrestle with the knowledge that my life is better than others because I am aware so much needs to be done and I may not be acting as the hands and feet and voice of Christ in the world in a way that can make more of a tangible difference.  I am grateful for the voices, mortal and spiritual, that challenge me and assist me on this journey.

I am grateful for being healthy.  I am grateful the bulk of those I know are healthy as well.

I am grateful that our country will have a new president in January.  I am grateful we will have a new vice president that allows little girls to know it is not folly to aspire to the highest levels of government.

I am grateful for pets, in general, as animals seem to be serving as healthy ways people can support themselves during the pandemic.  I am grateful for Hank, our aging beagle because he still acknowledges me as if I am a piece of Boar's Head Applewood Smoked Ham every time he sees me.

I am grateful for artists, musicians, authors, actors, and those who make their visible work possible.

I am grateful for front-line workers.

I am grateful for community organizations who have STOOD UP massively even as the scaffolds were being pulled out from underneath them and the people they serve.

I am grateful for all the smart people out there, working overtime in their respective fields, to figure it out so the rest of us can take advantage of a degree of normalcy they can provide.

I am grateful for the researchers who are developing the vaccines.

I am grateful for the God bestowed gifts of nature, yes, even snow.

I am grateful there are so many more things to be grateful for.  I am grateful that I can continue to seek these out and share them, as best as possible.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What a Difference a Year Makes

Image
  A year ago, we had sold our Minnetonka home and were awaiting closing. We were wintering in Florida.  We were hoping to find a new home (single level living) before we returned to Minnesota. Alas, the hope was misplaced, given the lack of inventory.  During the past year, I learned that:    About 14 million mortgage borrowers refinanced their homes between 2020 and 2021. Rates were at all-time lows during the pandemic, sinking as low as 2.65%. Given that mortgage rates are now in the high 6 to high 7 percent, more owners, even those who had an interest in moving, were hesitant to give up their historically low (probably never to be seen again) rates.  To whit: lack of inventory. I've previously chronicled how emotionally difficult the move ended up being, far surpassing what I anticipated and hanging on longer than I bargained for. We moved into an apartment, and I'll admit that this past summer, it felt pretty good.  Our entire family, grandchildren...
Read more

Wrap It Up and Put A Bow On It

Image
  A few of the local trees are beginning to show the first inklings of fall, leaves fading from green to early shades of yellow.  And it smells like late summer--a distinctive smell I recall from childhood, a scent that followed me home from school on those first few weeks when you raced home in a hurry to change out of the Catholic School uniform into shorts because it was still warm and light enough to play outside until dinner.  The shadows on our deck are growing longer.  The squirrels scamper around with nuts tucked between their jaws.   Yep, it's time to wrap summer up and put a bow on it. We had such a blissful summer, leisurely hours spent with those we love, wedding celebrations for family and friends, reunions and reconnections, time spent on the road and in the air.  Primarily for myself, but also for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd recap May through August. Following our return drive from Florida April 28, we flew to Chicago for the we...
Read more

Cro-A-Ti-A Day 7

Image
                                                                             The Final Kastela Yesterday My Friend Jeanie, bonus grands Eleanor and MaggieRose, McB and John and I started at Kastel Gomilice, then headed out down what, for the other 6 Kastelas, is a seaside path to Kastel Sucurac. It was not meant to be. Turns out past Kastel Gomilice there is a large harbor area so that the path ends and it's up to the busy street to make your way to Sucurac.  A hot, not so shady, very unscenic busy street.   Proof that we found Sucurac. Bonus Grand Eleanor, me, My Friend Jeanie, Bonus Grand/Goddaughter MaggieRose We looked, in vain, for a street that would lead away from said street back to the seaside.  When we finally found what appeared t...
Read more