Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful for a nice wedding anniversary yesterday and for this moment; right here, right now. It has been busy with many things going on and needing attention. They are all blessings, but they can also get me a little spun up. So this morning it is about this moment and this moment only. Right now I am sitting on our back patio enjoying: -a quiet Sunday morning neighborhood -cool air -birds singing -my first cup of coffee -a prayerful pause That's it. That's all. And it is more than enough.

Today I am grateful for safe travels and for my husband Darcy and our marriage. In honor of our 18th anniversary today, here is a 6 x 3 gratitude list I want to share so he and anyone reading this knows how much I appreciate, respect, and love him: We have shared goals. -putting family first in both words and actions -working to stay healthy overall in the ways we can control -keeping a clean and maintained home He is my favorite running partner. -getting up early so many Saturdays to get a training run in -sharing marathon experiences including the 12 we have started together and the 3 we finished together . . . so far -the fact that we agree on being non-competitive and using the Galloway method He is a wonderful father. -his children look to him for advice and stability -he broke a pattern that needed breaking -he has fully embraced being a grandpa A good temperament. -his hearty laugh when something is really funny to him -he is good at defu...

Today I am grateful for the morning quiet and coming daylight that help me start my day with peace. I am also grateful for fewer times of quiet desperation in my own life. I witnessed someone the other day showing a little desperation, or that is what it looked like to me. It wasn't an emergency, but you could hear it in the person's voice and body language. It had to do with money. My first thought went to someone that edgy needing money for an addiction. My second thought was deep gratitude that I am no longer an active alcoholic. I had times of desperation when I made choices I am not proud of. I survived and continue to recover. Quiet desperation. We have all been there, in one way or another. Sometimes it is a short trip. Other times it is a long stay. What I have learned through regular gratitude practice is this: life fluctuates and flows, sometimes with joy, other times with pain, and often with some of each. When I tune in to what I already have, I do much bet...

Today I am grateful for our son Sam's health. He had his well-child check and physical a few days ago. I am always relieved when things check out okay. And I am grateful for time with our grandson Leo and witnessing how he experiences the world. I am also grateful for wisdom shared by others. One of my recovery friends, with many years of sobriety, was just talking about having "good miles and bad miles" over the years. I would be lying if I said I never had any good miles in my using days. There were fun times and laughter. There was escape from worry and fear. There were hilarious memories. But most of those came before alcohol got a stranglehold on me-which really didn't take long. Today when I think of good miles, I first go to all the running miles I have logged. Some have been easier and more enjoyable, others more difficult. They have all been good miles. I am deeply grateful for the thousands of miles I have logged, solo and with my husband and others,...

Today I am grateful for a bed to sleep in and a washer and dryer that works. I take both for granted much of the time, when many others go without either. Yesterday we attended the biggest open house event I have ever been to. It was an opportunity to get a free look at the just opened U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, new home of the Minnesota Vikings. Skol Vikings! We drove in rain, very heavy at times. (Thanks for driving Darcy.) We waited in a long line, sharing an umbrella. We walked the tour with hundreds and thousands of others and took a seat in one of the sections they had open. It was fun and not something you do every day. We were impressed with what we saw and look forward to being there for an event or game in the future. I took several pictures and in the end chose this one to post: A sail on a Viking ship and a cloud-shrouded city skyline. The picture only tells so much. You had to be there. That's the point. Be present for life today. Show up and ...

Today I am grateful for easy access to clean water and how refreshing a shower can feel on a hot day. Sewing has become something of a lost art. Though for me, it was never an art. It was a project/assignment in a class I think was called Coed Consumer Living when I was a high school freshman. The skirt I completed was never actually worn. The crooked waistband, among other things, kept me from parading around in it. (Those who knew me as a youngster would say I didn't like to be in anything dressy or too girly-girly.) My mom and several of my sisters were good at sewing and I was impressed with their skills and end products. It just wasn't one of the things I cared to try much. In the few years since that class, the extent of my sewing has been limited primarily to replacing buttons and small mending and hemming jobs. For years, anything bigger than that and I would take it home to my mom. Now, I am willing to pay someone else to do it. As I did one of those butt...

Today I am grateful for my friends and a newcomer at breast cancer support group last evening, and for the years of combined living we have since our diagnoses. Years. Months. Days. Minutes. Moments. Precious time, no matter how it is measured. I appreciated my sister Danita's most recent post on her blog  "Aging Wrinkles and Wonders"  titled What Time is It?  I read the honest words of my sister and paused to consider my own perception and use of time. It is usually easy to find the literal answer to "What time is it?" It is a far deeper endeavor to explore what I am doing with my time. Is it well spent or wasted? Time is to be cherished, yet I can squander it as well as anyone. Make no mistake, doing nothing and squandering time are NOT the same thing. Sometimes pausing, resting, sitting and doing nothing is the best use of time. Squandering is wasting it in worry or waiting or wondering what to do. Is my time going to who and what I love? Isn't t...