Gratitude

My sister reminded me yesterday to look at all kinds of things that are happening around me and to me and to express my gratitude for them.  Gratitude has a lot of power, she says.

Where to begin?  It's Easter Sunday and I'm sitting on my bed looking out at the vines growing up over my window screens as they blow in the hot Spring wind.  The KVET Sunday Gospel show is playing on the digital clock radio that I've had since I was fourteen years old.  I have a huge goblet of ice water and my favorite tea cup full of coffee with half and half sitting on my night stand next to a sage scented candle softly burning. For these things, I am grateful.

On any given weekday morning, I give thanks for individually wrapped packages of  Chips Ahoy, a big bag of apples and a full container of Goldfish crackers.  The lifetime supply of foil that I bought at Sam's is nothing short of Heaven-sent.  I tell Daniel I only have 300 or so more school lunches to make for him.  I am thankful for PB & J, turkey and sliced cheddar and foot long hoagy bread.

I am ever so thankful for the vibrate feature on my cell phone.  Sandra the cat lays next to me on my bed, draped lazily over my charging phone, until a text comes through and sends her leaping up in terror, her crazy green eyes bulging in confusion.  She looks at me like I did it! This cat drives me nuts most of the time, but at this particular moment, I am thankful that she is here with me.

Over the past few years I have enjoyed a myriad of changes in my life.  Over the past several weeks, I have experienced some fairly dramatic alterations in my everyday existence.  A sudden change in employment, which at first induced confusion and fear, rapidly became a refreshing, entertaining and down right comforting adventure.  Severance pay from my former employer, the sale of my old RAV4 and my new pay rate has suddenly given me some breathing room in my paycheck to paycheck world.  My word of mouth grapevine led to a call from a friend of friend that is interested in buying my place. With gratitude I recall the words "Wealth is not about having money, it's about having options."

I have a fearless spirit for which I am grateful.  My fearlessness, while not always a good thing, has allowed me to move foward often not knowing what will come next or how.  I live by saying to myself these days, "Go for it.  What's the worst that can happen?" I am grateful for courage and for options.