Gratitude Journal #104

Today, I am grateful to the families and friends of victims of the 9/11 attacks for allowing us as a nation to collectively share in their grief and remembrance. I hope they understand how much love and support they have from perfect strangers all around the world and that it brings them some bit of comfort.

Today, I am grateful for taking Daisy on a walk at the park...her first since March. Poor thing. Her next surgery is scheduled for the first week in October.

Today, I am grateful for Pastor Suzanne's sermon yesterday. She must have had me in mind when she wrote it. But then, it often seems that God speaks through others when we need it most. His timing is perfect; we just need to pay attention.

Today, I am grateful for friends who gather for coffee. Our coffee group finally resumes meeting this week after a long summer of kids. Can't wait to hear what the ladies have to say!

Today, I am grateful for my friend Nancy, who ate lunch with me on Friday so we could catch up on what's happening with our children on the autism spectrum and life in general.

Today, I am grateful for quality medical care. My father-in-law is back in the hospital as of last night. If you pray, please keep Roger in your prayers.

Today, I am grateful for fingertip band-aids.

Today, I am grateful for long phone calls with loved ones far away.

What are YOU grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #103

Today,  I am grateful for laborers--skilled and unskilled--who make my life easier. The garbage collection employees; the UPS man; the auto mechanics; the check-out clerks; the people on the other end of the line at the bank or insurance companies; the road repair workers; the spiritual laborers who pray and teach and lead in our churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples and prisons and streets; electricians and plumbers and carpenters and others who make and keep our houses sound; the air traffic controllers and pilots and flight attendants and mechanics who help us fly around this big blue marble; the teachers who share their knowledge with people of all ages; writers who share their stories and words; government workers at all levels who deal with the frustration of bureaucracy daily; the men at Salvation Army who take donations and always give me a "Bless you and have a wonderful day!"

Today, I am grateful for time spent with family, even when the smaller family members complain "I don't WANT a book night!" and 'NOOOOO!!!!" when we tell them what we're doing.

Today, I am grateful for benadryl. Uh-huh.

Today, I am grateful for this Chinese proverb I saw on a friend's Facebook status: "Better do a good deed near home than go far away to burn incense." It fits perfectly with another friend's link on FB that puts very clearly into a tidy list my feelings about toxic religion: The Warning Signs of Toxic Religion.

Today, I am grateful for a community's response to tragedy when we lost a five-year-old boy in a horrible accident. May his family feel God's grace and comfort surround them at this time and always.

Today, I am grateful that friends and family and even strangers can talk to me in their troubles. What a blessing it is to listen, a labor of love that's hard sometimes and sometimes ever so easy. I am also grateful for those who listen to me. We're all connected, aren't we?

Today, I am grateful to be able to say to you, "Bless you and have a wonderful day!"

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #102

Today, I am grateful for two birthdays last week: my mother's and my younger son's. I'm also grateful for nine years with this beautiful boy.

Self Portrait

Today, I am grateful for the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., for his courage, his intelligence, his ability to communicate clearly God's message of dignity, compassion, and love for all.

Photo credit

While we were driving to the Newport Aquarium Saturday, we listened to an interview on NPR. It's just a few minutes long, so please take time to listen. I am so inspired by--and grateful for--Nate Masters' perspective on life.

"Life is not hard. It's just a little troublesome sometimes." That's faith.

Today, I am grateful for faith, optimism, and rejoicing in the morning.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #101

Today, I am grateful that school starts in two days. Oh so grateful.

Today, I am grateful for this news story I just clicked on from  Happy News. Semper Fi, indeed. Get a tissue.

Today, I am grateful that my father-in-law should be leaving the hospital today and is well on the road to recovery.

Today, I am grateful for laughter. Especially at the expense of sleeping pups whose cheeks are subject to mean ol' gravity.

"Check out my fangs. Grrrr. Terrifying, aren't they?"

Not really, Daisy. Not really.

"Then stop laughing and rub my gloriously furry belly."

Yes, ma'am.

What are you grateful for today? 

Gratitude Journal #100

Wow. One-hundred gratitude posts. That's pretty cool.

Today, I am grateful for laughter on long road trips. We were listening to NPR somewhere in Illinois. Or was it Indiana, Wisconsin, or Minnesota? Wherever. Someone quoted Ted Williams, who said, "If you don't think too good, don't think too much." *chortle*

Today, I am grateful for regional speech patterns. I heard my first "ya, you betcha" in the McDonald's in Virginia, Minnesota, and knew we had arrived at our destination, the place where George's roots grow. It's just like the "y'all" I hear in my family home in Charlotte...comforting and welcoming.

Today, I am grateful that when George sank his and Nick's canoe in three-foot-deep water, we got the funniest story of the entire vacation. Neither fisherman was hurt, and all the gear (most of which belonged to my father-in-law) was saved. Nick didn't panic and even learned a few new words. ("It was a rated R canoe voyage," he said.) When George retrieved his rod from the bottom of the lake, there was a perch attached to the line...the only fish he caught the entire trip.

Today, I'm grateful for time spent with family in a beautiful place where we had nothing much to do except enjoy each other's company, relax, read, kayak, fish, and watch the eagles and ospreys soar. What a blessing to us all.

Today, I'm grateful we are home safe and will pick up Miss Daisy today at the kennel. We missed our Furry Golden Sunshine so much!

Today, I'm grateful for the fact that the back-to-school countdown is in the single digits.

Today, I'm grateful for rest and the energy that follows it.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #99

Today, I am grateful for George's Grandma's 100th birthday party, and for brothers and sisters.

And mothers and daughters.

Today, I'm grateful Grandma wasn't hurt worse in a recent fall from her wheelchair.

Today, I'm grateful for what happens when little boys get hold of the camera and take pictures of themselves...

...and their brothers.

Today, I am grateful for that cool feeling kids have when life is REALLY super-sized.

Today, I am grateful for giant inflatable slides on cold Minnesota lakes.

Today, I am grateful for family, log cabins, bald eagles, laughter, hand shakes, and hugs.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #98

Today, I am grateful for love and kindness.

Today, I am grateful for this photo George took.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #97

Today, I am grateful for physical therapists. They don't promise quick fixes, but they can put you on the path to fitness and health if you do what they say to do.

Today, I am grateful (and also a little sad) for the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series. We saw it yesterday, and on the whole, I found it satisfying...as satisfying as a movie adaptation of a complex book can be. Can't wait to see it again!

Today, I am grateful for all who are providing support and comfort to the surviviors of and the families of those killed in the Oslo attacks. What a horrible, senseless tragedy, born of hate and fear and madness.

Today, I am grateful for the infinity of God's grace and love.

Today, I am grateful for my uncle Darius, who celebrated his birthday late last week. Love you, Coach!

Today, I am grateful for all my readers and am so very happy to award the Barnes and Noble Gift Certificate to random commenter #30, Karen McAlpine, who wrote,

It is Thursday, so I will go back to yesterday. I decided to re-read all the Sue Grafton mysteries this summer. I started on A and am now on P. So, the amazing part is this: if you have read any of these mysteries, you that the author strings you along for awhile and then bam! the good part. Well, last night I got to the bam! good part. I finally had to set the book down and turn out the light. Nice way to go to sleep. And, I did not feel like working (accounting) yesterday...so I didn't. Just made one fun card and did some blogging. And, I managed to stay cool. I also watched the butterflies dance around my flowers. They come and visit each afternoon. Happy blog-aversary!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Karen, please send me an email at susanraihala at woh dot rr dot com, and I'll send you your gift card ASAP.

Many thanks to all of you who shared how you made a day ridiculously amazing. It was so uplifting and fun to read your responses. What a blessing it is when people share life's positive news!

Gratitude Journal #96

Today, I am grateful for coffee. Specifically, Coffees of Hawaii Malulani Estate. I so totally needed it this morning.

Today, I am grateful for boys jumping in the pool and for dads who jump in with them.

Today, I am grateful that George safely completed the Caesar Creek Olympic-Distance Triathlon yesterday.

Today, I am grateful for thoughts...my own and other people's. Even though thoughts keep me up late at night, even though they distract me from sometimes necessary tasks, even though they shake me up a bit, they are never, ever boring.

Today, I am grateful for the book The Help. It gave me lots of thoughts.

Today, I am grateful for learning something new about words, courtesy of blog reader iriseyes. She pointed out that complaisant and complacent mean slightly different things, and I used the wrong one on my post Friday. Complaisant means eager to please, agreeable. Complacent means self-satisfied, pleased. I never knew. Now I do.

What a happy thought!

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #94

Today, I am grateful for our friend Derek's Ironman Coeur d'Alene finish last night. Derek, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!! Congratulations!!

Today, I am grateful for a safe and relaxing weekend, for mown grass and the man who mowed it, for good food and the man who prepared it, for children who didn't bicker all weekend.

Today, I am grateful for rechargers. These plugs and wires multiply exponentially in gadgety homes, but they keep my camera and cell phone and computers going. One day, at least in my wildest fantasies, there will be one universal recharger for all gadgets, and then I will be even more grateful.

Today, I am grateful for the parable of the Good Samaritan. Its lesson is so very beautiful...and so very hard.

Today, I am grateful the pain patch wore off Daisy's side because it was really irritating her. Unfortunately, it seems to have been doing some good, so I'm calling the vet this morning to get some more medicine for the drooping Daisy. I am grateful for vets and the medicines that give comfort to our furry friends.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #94

Today, I am grateful for a wonderful evening Saturday night with my husband of twenty-five years. We had a romantic dinner at the Wine Loft (five courses, five wines, fabulous!), bookish browsing at Books and Company, and laugh-out-loud fun watching Bridesmaids. I love you, man!

Today, I am grateful for abundant, silly noises made by golden retrievers who are baffled by their reflections in windows at night. When I closed the curtains, Daisy was soooo much happier.

Today, I am grateful for veterinary surgeons who fix defective knees. Daisy will have her first surgery tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for a number of pictures George took of the silly golden, but most especially, this one.


"Whah?"


Today, I am grateful for father figures in my life, most specifically for my uncle Darius and my father-in-law Roger. And I'm grateful that the father of my children is also awesome.

Today, I am grateful for repair people who can fix things, replace things (specifically, today, water softeners and pressure regulator valves), and generally know how to be far more useful in life than I will ever be.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #93

Today, I am grateful George successfully--and safely--completed another olympic-distance triathlon.

Today, I am grateful for Pastor Suzanne's sermon on mercy or merit. It helped me understand a lot of what I've been thinking about in the past few years.

Today, I am grateful for a dog that sits like a frog.

"Why are you laughing at me?"

...which also makes me grateful for laughter.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #92

Today, I am grateful for each and every patriot who has died in service to our great country.

"Perform, then, this one act of remembrance before this Day passes - Remember there is an army of defense and advance that never dies and never surrenders, but is increasingly recruited from the eternal sources of the American spirit and from the generations of American youth." ~W.J. Cameron

As George and I watched the televised Memorial Day concert in Washington last night, he said, "Watching this makes me feel bad." I asked why, and he said, "I don't feel like I did enough."

"I don't feel like I did enough." Think about the kind of person who feels this way about his twenty years of service. And realize that George is not alone. Millions have felt--and feel--just as he does.

Makes you proud to be an American, doesn't it?

You did enough, honey. And so has every single person who was "recruited from the eternal sources of the American spirit." The men and women in uniform--from the American Revolution to the war in Afghanistan--signed up to serve, signed away their own personal freedom to choose what they do, where they live, and how they live to serve their country. Those whom we particularly honor today also signed away their lives. They gave more than enough, and their graves are watered by our grateful tears.

The True Meaning of Memorial Day

Gratitude Journal #91

Today, I am grateful for long, thoughtful emails from smart people.

Today, I am grateful for impromptu parties at neighbor's houses.

Today, I am grateful for teachers, therapists, and school aides who accept children for who they are and push them to learn, for nice kids who are kind and helpful to their differently abled peers, and for mommy bloggers who share their experiences with the world of special needs.

Today, I am grateful for George.

Today, I am grateful for this billboard, which made me laugh out loud.

Today, I am grateful for faith that doesn't see the end of the staircase but keeps climbing up anyway.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #90

Today, I am grateful for those in law enforcement who face risks and dangers daily. Last week, our county lost Sgt. Dulle in the line of duty. He leaves behind a wife and three young children. May they feel the love and support of our community during this terrible time.

Today, I am grateful that our grill didn't explode. George discovered the burners are disintegrating and have giant holes corroded through them. I have no idea if this is as dangerous as it looks, but it scared me just to look at it.

Today, I am grateful for everyone contributing to cancer research and treatment across the whole planet. This disease in its many forms touches all of our lives over and over again in so many challenging and sometimes tragic ways. If you're like me and useless in research and treatment, please consider a donation to the fight. If that's not possible, why not send a friend or family member with cancer a card to let them know you're thinking of them.

Today, I am grateful for furry friends and silly boys.

Entirely Unnecessary Yet Adorable Dog Picture

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #89

Today, I am grateful that my mother gave birth to me and raised me with love and compassion and kindness. Not everyone is so blessed by a wonderful mother as I am.

Today, I am grateful for my husband and boys, who made Mother's Day extra special with a great dinner, some quiet time in my craft room, and lots and lots of love all day!

Today, I am grateful for hot water...because we have none.

Today, I am grateful for people who provide services. These are the people who dry clean our clothes; who fix our lawnmowers, water heaters, computers, and cars; who drive delivery trucks and taxis and buses; who mow grass and edge drive-ways and whack weeds; who watch our pets when we are away; who sweep our chimneys; who smile and ask if we found everything we wanted as they scan our groceries; who stock the shelves at our Barnes and Noble; who fix our mochas perfectly at Starbucks and deliver hot meals to our table at Bonefish Grill; who do what we tell them to do with our money through little windows at a counter in a bank. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #88

Today, I am grateful to those who are helping the homeless, powerless, and devastated people in the South.

Today, I am grateful for justice.

Today, I am grateful for walks in the woods.

Today, I am grateful for hugs and kisses, family togetherness, meals eaten together, and boys tucked safely into bed at night.

Today, I am grateful for a million little kindnesses.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #87

Today, I am grateful for the empty tomb.


What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #86

Today, I am grateful for the Arts...for teachers who inspire kids to create; for elementary school art shows with clay food and swirly hearts and cardboard box sculptures and cityscapes showing perspective; and for 5th grade pirate musicals. (My boy's in the green shirt on the right. He was a prisoner and had a speaking part. I'm so proud!)

Today, I am grateful for people who want to help other people.

Today, I am grateful for hot-pink toenails. And sandals. And warm weather.

Today, I am grateful for palms and hosannas.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Journal #85

Today, I am grateful for new patio furniture. This summer, we will actually use our totally awesome, east-facing deck because we don't have to worry about an old, decrepit table collapsing on our laps.

Today, I am grateful for paper.

Today, I am grateful for report cards and IEP progress reports.

Today, I am grateful the government didn't shut down. Stupid politics.

Today, I am grateful that Daisy's knee appears to be healing.


What are you grateful for today?