Gratitude Sunday * November 25, 2012

~ I’m once again joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition. ~

Gratitude Sunday is a time to slow down and remember those thankful moments that graced our week. One reason I love keeping a daily gratitude journal is because it helps keep things in perspective for me. Each Sunday, I open my journal and share some of those moments with you here. If you’d like to join in, just leave a comment!

Gratitude is powerful energy. I love hearing others’ gratitudes!

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– Having new brakes put on my bike. Brakes are so nice to have, and now that I’m not rationing squeezes of the brake handles (I’m embarrassed to say), riding my bike feels downright luxurious. I’m also thankful that my energy level is slowly increasing so that I actually have the wherewithal to address life’s little details such as this!

– Lying outside in the sun on these warm and sunny days. And it’s so incredibly quiet out there since the season for power tools has largely passed. It’s really blissful out there, out in our yard (we have a yard wohoooooo!!!), out in the sun. How healing.

– The pumpkin pie! Remember how my post from Thanskgiving mentioned that I thought the pie had flopped? Never judge a pie by its cover evidently, because it was AWESOME! My dad left a comment on that post, and I think he expresses very well our collective impression of The Pie: “And now, the REST of the story…the pumpkin pie did NOT turn out to be a flop. It was firm, just like it should be, VERY tasty and not too sweet–but just right! The crust was not soft and almost mushy like other pumpkin pie crusts I’ve had, but almost crunchy (it was a very self-confident crust) and I liked it. It held together extremely well. I thought it was a hit!! an aside–beans were good, as usual, and cranbery sauce was excellent, with pieces of apple included to add more and different texture and flavor. Muy bien hecho…”

The funny thing is, that pie and its crust will go down as the best all of us have ever had! In fact I have never seen my Hubby go for pie (or really any dessert) like he did for that one. What a compliment! We all loved that pie… and what a great surprise that it was actually good.

– A wonderful Thanksgiving with the people I love. And then watching our annual movie, A Christmas Story, is always icing on the cake!

– Being able to walk a lot more. One year ago, it was such a different story. I was feeling so unbelievably sick, and one memory I will never forget is being hardly able to even walk across the street (a couple hundred feet) to the park with my mom and dad; I waited on the nearest bench, hardly able to sit and wanting to just lie down, while my parents walked around the park. And then walking back home again, another couple hundred feet, was an effort my body could hardly handle. I was so sick I felt like I was going to collapse and feared they’d have to carry me home — a sensation I had many, many times during that period. It was really scary. And from that vantage point, I couldn’t imagine myself ever walking much of anywhere again, which saddened me because previous to falling ill, I loved walking so much and walked everywhere. But now…NOW!!!! I am walking more and more and more! I am returning to my old self! I am now reliably able to walk to the grocery store and back — two miles!!!!! Yesterday I walked probably two or three miles, and today another two!!! I can’t even express how happy this makes me…

– Castelvetrano olives (Jeff’s Natural’s brand) — what a discovery (thanks Mom!) — they are incredibly delicious.

– The most loving, honest, heartfelt, sweet words spoken to me by my love, F. I love you so much honey…

– Working on drawing a mandala while listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the radio last night. Soul food!!!!

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And how about you? In this week of Thanksgiving, what things are you grateful for?

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