"52 Graces"

This is my maiden voyage as a blogger. Kinda scary, but I am going to do it anyway. I have several friends who blog, and their courage to put their thoughts, etc. "out there" for all to see and read has always impressed and humbled me. I was recently challenged by one of these friends to give it a go myself. So here goes....

I have recently begun to think that I need to take time out of my life to focus on those things for which I am grateful. However, it took me a while, and a just a few "knocks on the head," to get me to actually DO something. This blog is my attempt to do something active to acknowledge my gratitude.

Knock on the head number one is the fact that I have been struggling with post-holiday, winter (too many cold and gray days!), and hormonal (can you say “beginnings of perimenopause?!) blues. As part of the blues, I have been plagued with way too much negative thinking. Being stuck in this cycle has led to more negative, self-defeating thinking, “What’s wrong with me? Why am I being so negative?” I knew I needed to DO something, but what????

Knock on the head number two was receiving an email from my dear friend, B. The subject of the email was, you guessed it, gratitude. I loved the email. The message was that you need to find gratitude even in places where it doesn’t seem possible—e.g. “ I am grateful for the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.”

Number three: This one came from B as well. She posted an entry on her blog titled “52 Graces” in which she talked about her realization more gratitude is necessary in her life as well. Included was a reference to another blog, “Blah, Blah, Blog” by Julie. Julie started the idea of including a grace per week on her blog. Hence the term “52 Graces.”

Finally, my own daughter provided the last knock on the head that got me thinking, “Hmm, maybe I should give some thought to doing something about this gratitude thing…” My daughter and I have been working our way through all the American Girl historical stories. Our latest is the story of Kaya, a Native American girl. In Kaya’s culture they thank all living things that give their lives so that people can benefit. At dinner the other night we were eating venison (an extremely rare occurrence for us). My hubby thought the kids would freak out to know what we were eating, but I had confidence they would be ok with it so we told them. My daughter’s beautiful response was, “Oh, poor deer. Thank you so much for giving your life so that we can eat.”

OK. OK. OK. I get it!

Grace #1: Last night I was grateful to be out walking in the freezing cold because it means that I have a wonderful old dog named Hoosier that is still healthy enough to get outside for a walk.

Grace #2: Along those same lines...I am grateful for the cat vomit I had to clean up yesterday because it means I have 2 wonderful, adorable cats that bring great joy and much laughter to my life.