I am so grateful for~
No surprises upon return:

1.      Amelia’s car that started right up after it sat at the airport

2.      The tires that did not go flat

3.      The appliances that kept humming along although way past their warranties

4.      The sprinklers that combated the sudden 100+ temps ( when we left it was in the 80’s)

5.      The air conditioner that clicked right on and cooled the house

6.      Linda, who watched the house and collected the mail

7.      Cecelia and Leann, who watched our Ruby

8.      My parents stayed well while we were away

9.      My car started right up after its week-long rest, tires ok too :)

“When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” ~Lao Tzu

I am grateful for these kind New Yorkers:

1.)    Eddie, who arranged for balloons and a fruit basket to celebrate Amelia’s graduation

2.)    Sofia, who corrected an error on our bill

3.)    Frank and Carlos, who hailed cabs for Amelia every morning and helped her with her heavy bookbags every night

4.)    Kelly at the Bryant Park post office, who helped me ship over 120 books back home

5.)    Margaret, who told me about the holiday sale and gave me the discounts early

6.)    Nancy, who said I was “likable”

7.)    The kind cab driver who picked up Amelia at midnight in the Bowery and checked to make sure she was ok

8.)    Jaime, who calmly and patiently endured holiday traffic to take us to the airport

9.)    Amelia, who soared above her 4’10” frame and took on New York City!

 Slow down, just see what is already here, and feel the abundance that is within you and around you right now. Alia, Inner Bliss Blog, Simply Say Yes

*Observation
*Creativity
*Contemplation
*Society
*Spirituality
*From one perspective to another
*Art of the Book
*The Heavens and Earth”
*Personal Expression

I am so grateful for these ideas projected at the NYC Library exhibit celebrating its 100 year anniversary.

Gratitude is the heart’s memory. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardners who make our souls blossom.   ~Proust

Very Grateful for:

1. the way the morning rain cools and calms
2. taking time to stretch
3. checking a bill and finding an error before I paid (it is so hard to fix these after the fact)
4. taking time to proofread—good thing, too!
5. a nice young clerk who said something nice to me (well, his store badge said “sales associate”— guess that’s the new term)
6. a very unusual day when my cell phone did not ring once —really nice actually
7. observing the inner dialogue inside me before deciding on a course of action
8. slowly down deliberately instead of immediately acting
9. telling myself “no” gently but firmly when a nudge came to revisit an unhealthy person for me

God walks with us. He scoops us up in His arms or simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that yes, even now, He is there.—Gloria Gaither

Grateful for:

1. Safety
2. Watchful Eyes
3. Neighbors who Notice
4. Neighbors who watch
5. Neighbors who ask questions
6. A Neighborhood Family
7. Feeling Safe
8. Safety Nets
9. Being known by name

   “People say there are things in life that can’t be explained or fully described, that you will just know when you see it and when you experience it. They say that love is one of those things. And I know that grace is another. Naomi Zacharias, The Scent of Water: Grace for Every Kind of Broken

Grateful for:
hugs
stretches
sight
sound
breath
smiles
choices
abundance
laughter

Just as a fresh breeze cleans smoke for the air, so a grateful spirit removes the cloud of despair~
The Travelers Gift

1. Today is the day of great anticipation and planning and I am SO grateful for it.
2. Grateful that my new supervisor understood my panic and let me take yesterday afternoon off (i don’t get paid when I am not there but what i forfeited in pay, at my salary, not much to lose!)
3.  Everyone, especially including my parents, are healthy enough to attend daughter Amelia’s graduation
4. I remembered to charge the camera batteries and fill the gas tank
5. Remembered to pick up the robes
6. My brother will be here to escort her and hood her (a tradition at the college she attends)
7.  I finished my graduation wish for her after only a one box of tissues
8. At graduation practice yesterday—some unexpected fun reunions people I graduated with were there with their kids who are graduating! (and one last time to see the eyes roll from the kids)
9.  Found out the graduation ceremony will be live-streamed ~~ techie-heaven-ness

10.  Would love for you  GLD/WLG to  post any thoughts, verses, comments that I could share with my daughter on this special day. I am grateful for you in advance!

1. Piano music
2. The ache and hope in the song Only Love Remains
3. Splashing cold water on my face
4. Freshly-pressed handkerchiefs-yes, I still use them and love them when they are pressed which means I took the time to press them
5. Taking the time
6. Wandering
7. New Wilson tennis shoes (a gift for Mother’s Day)
8. Hearing my daughter on the phone setting her own boundaries-she does it so effortlessly
9. Cupcakes from my neighbor!

Remember your faith is the best answer to anxiety.

1. For the mom who takes care of two sets of twins (yes, it is true)
2. For the mom who takes care of her sons while her husband is deployed
3. For the mom who takes care of her mom
4. For the mom who grieves the daughter and granddaughter lost to a drunk driver
5. For the mom who celebrates her first Mother’s Day today
6. For the “mom” who is a single dad raising three zest-for-living sons
7. For the single mom who combats and rises above  bitterness and unfairness
8. For the stay-at-home mom who thinks she is “just a mom” when she is that & so much more
9. For my mom
10. For you!

Being a mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love.~ ~Mildred B. Vermont

1.      Bluebonnets on the way to work

2.      Tip-toe-ing around office politics (again)

3.      That what I thought was going to happen, did not happen

4.      I do not have to absorb another’s negative intentions

5.      A very unexpected call of support and reminder of faith

6.      Watching Ruby just haul her tiny, white self at full speed in the backyard

7.      Arriving home to warm cookies on the front porch from Linda

8.      This great series called “Flowers  on a Saturday”

9.      Safe travels, even if it is just traveling through the day

The best six doctors anywhere/And no one can deny it/Are sunshine, water, rest, and air, Exercise and diet. Nursery rhyme