Gratitude Sunday * December 4, 2011

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m once again joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition.

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*This list is a little belated, but still full of gratitudes!*

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– My strong body. It really is so strong, and I’m so thankful for it. Many times in the past months I’ve been so sick I actually wasn’t sure I would make it through the night, but then the next day I would be a lot better. My body amazes me with how fast it can bounce back from feeling so horrendous. I have a whole new respect for it now.

– Being HOME. Home home home. Geez, what a week. I’ve gone from feeling the absolute worst I’ve felt yet in 19 months, to almost the best I’ve felt in 19 months!! Early in the week, the antibiotics got me into a vicious circle, where the side effects were making me feel so awful that I wasn’t eating or drinking, and then each subsequent dose (with no food and not much water to “pad” it in my stomach) made me feel even worse…and then not having nearly enough fluids to help flush out previous doses…made for a very potent combo. Tuesday I couldn’t keep any liquid down at all, and that night went to the ER for severe dehydration. My resting pulse was 122 when I got there, twice what it normally is, and my body was jerking uncontrollably. They replaced a gallon of fluids through IV; we were chuckling later, because they put the first two liters in simultaneously — two bags dripping full blast, draining into the same line going into my arm! I’ve never seen that. So they kept me overnight and most of the next day too, until I could keep fluids down on my own. And when I went home I was feeling heaps better, and have been feeling a lot better since then! Something seems to have shifted during those intense two weeks on the antibiotics. And they’re definitely powerful drugs, especially in my sensitive body, and now I know my body’s limits with them. If need be, I know I can stop again and take a little break.

And I’m so glad to be HOME!!

– Being able to eat more! For the last few months my stomach has been extremely touchy. But I’m noticing that I’m able to eat more foods and they are settling better! I can’t even tell you how wonderful this is, and I really hope it continues. I can eat avocados again! I’m not sure which way I love them more — with nama shoyu raw soy sauce, or with lemon juice and salt!

– My family. ALWAYS. They are the single most precious thing in my life.

– Receiving more reiki from my friend; what a wonderful gift.

– Being in a hot bath with snow falling outside.

– A steaming bowl of soaked oatmeal on a frigid morning.

– Walking to the health food store! (2 or 3 miles round trip.) I used to walk everywhere, no problem, but haven’t felt well enough to walk even around the block for so many months. What a good feeling to do a long walk & have mostly sufficient energy for it. That is truly huge!!!

– On a bitterly cold night, soaking my feet in hot water while doing some art. Really fun!

– Yesterday. It started out as a very bad day; my illness symptoms were all back and I was feeling really disheartened and trapped in my body and was mentally sinking fast and nothing was helping. So I began antibiotics again (the plan had been to wait till Monday so my body could get firmly back on track). I decided I needed to take action for the health of my spirit, so called my mom and joined in with her plan to go listen to kids sing Christmas songs at a local church, and then go to another church and listen to an adult choir sing for Christmas. It was so great! Then we went back to their house for dinner & had a wonderful evening. It ended up being exactly what I needed. And it was so nice to get out and do things that I wouldn’t normally do. Have new experiences. My mom and I agreed that getting out and making the effort to have different experiences out of your normal everyday life… to get out and do different stuff… is what makes you feel alive. And that’s just what yesterday afternoon did. It made me feel like I still had some control over my circumstances — that I was able to consciously turn my day around. It made me feel like I was out in life, living, doing things that lifted my spirits… rather than just having another day inside the apartment.

– Being sung to by a group of carollers; there was no one else around, so they asked if mom and I had a song request. I chose Carol of the Bells and felt bathed in their angelic voices as they sang to us! How special.

– Having a warm house. Tonight’s supposed to be -5°. It’s so nice to be warm inside!

– Baking a seasonal treat of challah bread, and how incredible it makes the house smell!

– Going outside last night at my parents’ house; it had begun to snow again, and outside there was just silence. Total silence. It was bitterly cold, and no one was out. A couple houses on the block had Christmas lights on. Winter nights like that just feel like a whole other world; those are some of my very favorite moments of the entire year. They touch a spot deep in my soul that nothing else does. I sure do love winter. Here’s a picture:

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What blessings have you counted this week?

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