Gratitude!

My oldest granddaughter and I have been collecting and wrapping things to take to Sleep Country to donate to less fortunate children. Now I don’t mention this to toot my own horn, but to tell you what  a great feeling it is to do that with my granddaughter each year. As we were wrapping a few pair of gloves, she said “Oh Nana, I worry about those kid’s hands being so cold” I said yes, that is why we are giving these to them. Then the conversation went about the same on each item we wrapped. It does my heart good to see the natural love and concern that children have for others.  It reminds me that we all should have that type of love, concern and compassion for others. I hope Angie ( and Jenny and my grandson to be ) will remember doing traditions like these with their  Nana. I hope they keep that giving heart all year long, and that they will grow up and make the world a better place by being in it!

As the girls and I were in the kitchen cooking and coloring this afternoon, the Christmas lights were on , the Christmas music was on the radio and I looked around and realized how very grateful I am that I am healthy enough to be here another year with my family and enjoy all this. Three years ago, I wasn’t sure what my future would be, I wasn’t sure if I would even want people to see me, I felt scared, I hurt, I was discouraged.  I thought I looked like a freak (after my mastectomy ) and I couldn’t imagine how I was going to go to my son’s wedding right after Christmas?  Yes, that was 3 years ago, and I can honestly say life has truly changed or maybe I have changed….my perspective has changed and tonight I sit here and realize how very very grateful I am for all that I have been blessed with….which is a lot!

I just received an email from a dear friend and his wife. He was sharing with us the report of his wife’s health, she battled cancer recently. He told us that her numbers were good and normal and her next blood draw won’t be until March, he said they are now going to take a deep breath and be grateful for her health returning. I know exactly what he was talking about. Those exams are the most nerve racking. You worry about them for weeks before they happen, and you hang on everything the DR says. When you hear everything looks fine or good or normal for now…you feel like jumping for joy! Gratitude is definitely what you feel. All of a sudden the lights of Christmas seem brighter, the music sounds sweeter and life and everything about it….seems more special.

So tonight I express my own gratitude for my health, my family ( but still missing the one’s that aren’t with us ) my friends, our jobs, my home, and all the many other things that I have been blessed with. I do believe that being grateful has helped me in my life, to see what really matters!

I am grateful for this blog, for the chance to daily think of something positive and motivational to share with you. It makes me look deeper at all that I see each day. Thanks for your love and support over these three years, it has been an incredible journey to say the least. Good night dear friends!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  ~Melody Beattie

“Be in an "attitude of gratitude" and you will feel yourself blessed beyond counting.”