in gratitude

As I sat making my recent birthday gratitude list, I was reminded of how good it feels to sit with my focus only on what I am grateful for.  On what brings joy and peace into my world.

For a while, when I was keeping a regular journal, and especially towards the end of my pregnancy with Claire, I made it a habit to sign off at the end of each day by writing down 5 things that I was grateful for.  Like the birthday lists, some were big and some were small.  But I learned that big or small didn't really matter, and that as much as anything else, the intention and the focus on the good was what made it feel so grand.

So I'm gonna do that, here, for the next week or so.  Because I've been more focused on the to-do list the past week than I have been on what's right in front of me, because I've been feeling a bit stressed and frazzled and less-than-mindful, less-than-patient, and so I think I need a little refocusing.  Some days I feel quite calm and centered in these choppy waters of willful 2 3/4 years old toddler angst, defiance, and testing.  Others day.... not so much.  Some days I barely see the downs because I'm so in awe of the abundance and beauty of the ups.  Those are some sweet days.  Other days, I let the frustrations get to me more than I'd like, and then feel remorseful about my lack of enthusiasm for the greatness that fills up the rest of the day.  I am human, of course.  But being a human who strives to stay mindful and fair, loving and calm, in the middle of most not-too-terribly-turbulent storms, I know I'm not operating from a place I want to be.

And so, each day I will share 5 things for which I am grateful, and perhaps a photo if that's what happens.

Bring on the warm fuzzies

*the goat milk caramel sauce from looking glass creamery, picked up at last week's market
*Claire's (general) un-pickiness when it comes to food choices
*slippers
*the yummy new teas I now have, compliments of my coworker via a birthday gift certificate to a cool little bulk tea/spice/herb shop in town
*having a small space in our office to set aside for Claire's 'school'