Day #365 - WOOT!! 1 Year Mark!!

I found myself a little reluctant to write my 365th post...this marks the end of my 1 years worth of gratitude posts. It only actually took me about 545 days to write 365 posts, but at least I finished what I started, right?

So...upon reflection, what have I learned? Finding something to be grateful for every day is not difficult...finding something NEW to be grateful for is not always as easy, but totally worth looking for.

Some of my favorite discoveries were the very simplest of items - like my Bic Pens, I still think "I love this pen" when I pick one up to use it each day and realize just how MUCH I love them when I try to use another pen to write sloppy and fast with; there is a time and place for a special pen as well, of course. I would never have understood this pen thing if I hadn't taken the time to really think about it and there are countless days that had me REALLY looking at life around me to discover that new thing I needed to recognize was good in my life.

I also know it is just fine to be grateful each day for the same things - the sunrise, the hummingbird, my husband, a safe drive home, a garage door opener, snow, no snow, my friends, my family, books, good health to name just a few.

I also know it is just fine to be cranky now and then as well. I am happy that my intention was usually pointed toward gratitude so that I could turn the cranky around quickly and I tried hard not to write as negatively as I sometimes wanted too, which is a HUGE step forward from past journals and private books.

Because my family is so important to me, and a recurring theme in my posts, it seems fitting to end my gratitude posts w/one for my Dad who had hip replacement surgery today. I stopped by for a visit after work and got to spend an hour all alone with him. He looked SOOOO good and chatted away about a bunch of different things. It made me realize I don't spend much ALONE time with my Father. It was wonderful to have him all to myself.

I am so excited he got this new hip! Not that his bad hip really slowed him down. My brother Jason told me Dad had him out until dark putting up a fence last night - the night before his surgery. He had to get one more thing in before he was laid up for awhile. I think this new hip is going to make such a huge difference in his physical life and I can't wait to see him get up and going in a few days - he will do GREAT!

I am sure I will keep writing, although I have plans to change/shift my focus. If nothing else this blog has been a great way to keep track of the small & big, the past & present, the significant & insignificant events of my life - Thank you for sharing them with me.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson