Friday night grateful moment

Driving home from post-work errands, I wasn't entirely sure I could muster a list of gratitude tonight. It's been a loooooooong week. Count every "o." Indeed.

But, once I pause and refresh, I am usually up for a little remembering of the gratitude, and of course this night is no exception. I'm fed, my feet are up, husband is near, and the evening outside has been just simply beautiful. Gratitude? In spades.

For family that cares, and reaches out. Thanks, family. (Group texts are the bomb. Am I right or am I right?)

For friends who care, and reach out. Thanks, friends. For responding to my voice messages/texts with sweetness, for encouragement and humor. (And music. Always for the music.)

For blueberries and nectarines and raspberries and blackberries and watermelon and tomatoes and cucumbers and corn and kale and potatoes; I'm grateful that every item I just listed is now ripe within 50 miles. Awesome.

For the weekend. For a day of rest, then a day of productivity, before we get to do it all over again.

For the power of words. I am daily reminded: Choose. Your. Words. (Someone's listening and will be influenced, I guarantee it.)

heavy

For joy.

For sadness, because it reminds me that joy exists in so many (unexpected) places.

For sweet puppies who greet me each night with hops and circles of happiness and licks and smiles.

For clouds that look an awful lot like they are lit from within. For sunsets that feel special, night after night. For wheatfields that go on and on, acre after acre of gold.

For anticipation... I do love having things to look forward to, and there are just enough summer teasers out there to keep me smiling. Nice. :)

For the amazing human body and the ability to heal. I'm especially grateful tonight for caregivers, a special breed of people, truly.

Color, color, color. Always grateful for color it its many forms; right now there are colors everywhere, from sky to earth to foliage to produce. Lovely to live somewhere with seasons.

I wouldn't have imagined in my earlier years how much I would grow to appreciate and be grateful for nature. I was talking with a friend today about our ideal kinds of trips, and I arrived at a few key points that make an area more appealing to me: fewer people (no crowds, please), more nature, and definitely good, fresh food choices; also, being able to walk and not rely so much on transportation. I know my love of NYC doesn't really fit that bill (though you can walk, and can find nature, there's no avoiding the crowds...), when I think about traveling for any length of time, having some wide open spaces to just breathe on occasion really does factor in.

For the habit of prayer, for the mindfulness to stop in the midst of stress and be calm (mostly), to look in the mirror, and breathe.

lakota

But especially, to know I am a child of God, and to rest in that knowledge, in peace.

I wish you a weekend of peace. And blueberries.