Handwriting them is best, I find.The sound of the pen, thoughtful in its trailing across the page, pausing to reflect, carry on, fresh reflections, forgotten and taken for granted items coming to the forefront to meet the page.
(1)Daughter gave me prayer flags and I hung them across my open bedroom window.
I would hang them outside when I lived in a house. Reminders.
A friend of mine, my age, her hands shake constantly from an elder disease she has, her voice quavers as well.
(2) My hands are free of arthritis and free of shaking. My voice is still strong.
(3)I still enjoy my reading so much. My father was a voracious reader but abandoned it long before he passed.
(4)Daughter and Grandgirl have planned this glorious trip far away from here. WE will be leaving next weekend when Grandgirl's self-isolation is complete. More on that later.
(5) Two independent gifts of homemade bread at my door last night. I can lose track of such seemingly tiny things but they are truly enormous when one thinks of the labour and the sharing of such beautiful time and labour.
(6) A gift arriving here for a dear one's birthday next month - something I know she will absolutely love.
(7) This is my little office space which I share with my bedroom. I absolutely love it. It is extremely functional. And everything is close at hand.
Gratitude is a gift which keeps on giving isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy handwriting (tremor and weakened grip) mean that handwriting is a chore rather than a pleasure now. For me, and for those who attempt to read it.
However,
I am endlessly grateful for the community I have found in the blogosphere,
that I can and do read,
And for beauty in its myriad forms.
I am looking forward to learning about your trip - and to traveling with you.
It surely is EC. The challenge is in remembering to formulate it even when feeling low and out of sorts. I will take pics on the trip. We are so excited.
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I have almost lost the skill of writing by hand and I struggle badly when I have to. I like your list of things to be grateful for. (4) sounds like it will be interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have noticed a deterioration in my own now, lack of practice though I do write out to do lists and write in my daily planner. Old fashioned but deliberate :)
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I hope your trip comes off perfectly. PERFECTLY!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne. It's really keeping me going these days, the looking forward, the anticipated journey.
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I've heard about gratitude lists but never done one. I hope you have a wonderful trip :)
ReplyDeleteThank you River, it's not tell next weekend when grandgirl is out of self-isolation after her trip here.
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Dear Webwisewoman and Friends, am most grateful for good health, and so not overly worried about catching covid - though that would honk me off bigtime because that would mean an automatic two-week leave from work (am saving that).
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to anyone who has lost their ability to use a pen longer than 5 minutes. There's nothing like seeing someone's beautiful handwriting.
Yes, good health is the greatest item on the gratitude list. I remember Granny telling me that health is wealth, how true that is.
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Such a splendid idea, I am not one for counting blessings but reminding myself of the good things in life is something I do quite unprompted. Particularly now, when I meet village friends we all tend to say “how very lucky we are to live where we do”. It’s true, we could be so much worse off.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you find happy-making things in your life too, we desperately need to look on the bright(er) side of life to carry on.
So true, Friko, I live in one of the safest places in the world, the lowest Covid cases in all of North America so feel triply fortunate that the worry factor and underlying anxiety isn't as bad as my friends in Florida have it and rising cases in the land of my birth, Ireland.
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I applaud you.
ReplyDeleteNo need for that Ramana, the down days creep on top of me sometimes and I can barely think straight. But yes, the good days are cherished so dearly.
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Many wonderful things to be grateful. I wish I could travel again.
ReplyDeleteMe too Gigi! I took so much of my travel for granted - though this next trip is by car - a long trip but I won't be doing a lot of the driving.
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So many of us forget to be grateful, especially during difficult times like these. So thanks for the reminder. I'm going to make my list now.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten too Tom and the woe is me was setting in. I could make a list 100 items long right now. As many of us could.
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Reminding ourselves of what we can be grateful for is an excellent exercise to lift our spirits when life can seem dreary or worse.
ReplyDeleteYes, there's enough dreariness, we need a bit of a lift now and again to remind ourselves of good fortune even when the future looks so poor.
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Gratitude. A list should always be kept to remind us in our time of need.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to going on your trip with you. Enjoy.
DeleteThank you GP, I am sooooo looking forward to it myself
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A gift of homemade bread - how lovely. And it's good that you still enjoy reading so much. My mother totally lost interest in reading some years before she died. I hope I don't go the same way.
DeleteI hope your trip is truly glorious. Whereabouts are you going?