Sometimes events are so overwhelming, so tragic, so emotional, that it is hard to concentrate on anything else and, in fact, it seems somehow wrong to speak of anything lighter or happy. My heart certainly goes out to those who are intimately affected by the recent events in France. As we keep them in our thoughts and prayers, though, and support them however we can, I think it is also imperative that we continue to see the good in the world. We cannot let fear keep us from feeling thankful. And as we share our expressions of gratitude, hopefully the world will seem a little brighter, a little calmer, and a little more peaceful.
Nature inspires thoughts of thankfulness:
1. I'm thankful for the promise of future blossoms. I noticed this week that one of the Christmas cactus plants in my house is budding. That always makes me smile.
2. I'm thankful for cute, curious bunnies. This photo is terrible, but I'm hoping it is worth some words, even if not a thousand. While Deedee was in her crate one day this week, and I was folding laundry on my bed, I noticed a bunny come up to my bedroom's sliding door. Deedee continued to snooze peacefully, and the bunny hopped away. It was just a sweet moment, and I'm thankful for it.
3. I'm thankful for big, impressive owls. When I was outside with Deedee, I noticed a soft whoo whoo. When I looked to see where the sound was coming from, I saw a huge owl at the top of a tree in my backyard. Again, not a great photo, but the best I could do while shooting with my phone camera and simultaneously holding onto squirmy Deedee's leash.
4. I'm thankful for mourning doves. I looked out the window and noticed two bunnies and several doves on the grass in my backyard. The bunnies were hopping around; the doves were walking. Not quite lambs and lions lying down together, but still a reminder that different species can peacefully co-exist.
While it is easy to see the beauty in nature, sometimes it is harder to feel gratitude for our own bodies. After all, we live in them. We feel their pains and we know their faults. We compare them with bodies of others. However:
5. I'm thankful I can see, hear, move, and taste.
6. I'm thankful for glasses, which allow me to see as clearly as I once did without them.
7. I'm thankful for ice, tape, advice from a friend (Ivy), and prayers (Mom) which allowed me to run in Disneyland's 10K today without difficulty.
8. I'm thankful for good food, which fuels my body and tastes delicious, too! (And for Yelp, which allowed us to discover the restaurant.)
Today, after the Disney run, we went to visit friends that we had not seen in nearly 20 years. What a wonderful reunion! When we last saw them, we were both living in Washington state. Our families were young; our children played together. Though our families are larger and older now, the conversation flowed like no time had passed. It was just so good to see them. When I was pregnant with my youngest son, I was on bedrest for months. During that time, my friend came over and scrubbed my bathroom floor, and somehow convinced me that I was doing her a favor! She has always been a great example to me, and will always hold a very dear place in my heart.
9. I'm thankful for good friends. Thanks, Ken and Mimi.
10. I'm thankful for John. We had a great time running together today. We decided to not come up with new costumes for this run; we went as Carl and Ellie again. Whenever anyone would shout out, "Go, Carl! Go, Ellie!" John would respond, "Adventure is out there!"
Adventure is out there, and I'm glad to be walking (or running) with John on our adventure!
What things have you noticed this week? What things are you thankful for?
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Nature inspires thoughts of thankfulness:
1. I'm thankful for the promise of future blossoms. I noticed this week that one of the Christmas cactus plants in my house is budding. That always makes me smile.
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| Photo: A bright pink bud of a Christmas cactus |
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| Photo: Deedee sleeps in her crate, while a bunny hops around about a foot away from her, on the other side of the sliding glass door. |
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| Photo: A big owl sits in the top of a pine tree |
While it is easy to see the beauty in nature, sometimes it is harder to feel gratitude for our own bodies. After all, we live in them. We feel their pains and we know their faults. We compare them with bodies of others. However:
5. I'm thankful I can see, hear, move, and taste.
6. I'm thankful for glasses, which allow me to see as clearly as I once did without them.
7. I'm thankful for ice, tape, advice from a friend (Ivy), and prayers (Mom) which allowed me to run in Disneyland's 10K today without difficulty.
8. I'm thankful for good food, which fuels my body and tastes delicious, too! (And for Yelp, which allowed us to discover the restaurant.)
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| Photo: An assortment of various Vietnamese foods |
9. I'm thankful for good friends. Thanks, Ken and Mimi.
10. I'm thankful for John. We had a great time running together today. We decided to not come up with new costumes for this run; we went as Carl and Ellie again. Whenever anyone would shout out, "Go, Carl! Go, Ellie!" John would respond, "Adventure is out there!"
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| Photo: John and I, dressed as Carl and Ellie from UP, at the conclusion of our 10K run |
Adventure is out there, and I'm glad to be walking (or running) with John on our adventure!
What things have you noticed this week? What things are you thankful for?
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How does the TTOT blog hop work. I have the banner on my blog but do I need anything more? :) nice post:)
ReplyDeleteOh, good! Come join us! Click on the little blue rectangle "Add your link" above, and then fill out the form. It will make your post appear on the list of posts.
DeleteMy cacti are just barely starting to get little buds, not anywhere near the size of yours yet. That is so neat you were able to see Mimi and her husband! What a great reunion for you all. Pretty soon the Disney crowd are going to be looking for the new Ellie and Carl at every run. LOL That Vietnamese food looks delicious! Next time your wildlife come to visit, maybe Deedee will be taking a nap and you can get some even better photos.
ReplyDeleteMy other cactus isn't that close to blooming yet, but hopefully soon. It definitely was a great reunion! And, the food was delicious!
DeleteThe cactus in my office is blooming as well... fabulous! Cool owl and great that the run went so well!
ReplyDeleteI thought I might be limping around today, but I'm feeling pretty good. :-)
Deletelove Christmas Cactus - mine is white and always love the flower it blooms... a 10k, friends from the past, new eye glasses, nature right outside your door ; last but not least some good advice that one (me) needs to hear from time to time:
ReplyDelete" We cannot let fear keep us from feeling thankful."
Thank you have a wonderful week a head....:)
Hope you have a wonderful week, too! :-)
DeleteCongratulations on the race. Finding beauty in nature always fills my soul with peace, and we certainly do need it.
ReplyDeletePeace is always welcome and needed.
DeleteOh, I love the UP reference. May you always be as happy as Carl and Ellie!
ReplyDeleteThank you. :-)
Delete…I have a money tree that a friend at my office gave me (yeah, I know, clever!)…. I looked it up on line and it said, 'can grow up to 18 meters'… so I went out and bought a bigger pot.
ReplyDeleteGood idea on that bigger pot!
DeleteGood list. We should be thankful for the simple, great things in every day life.
ReplyDeleteThanks. The little, simple things are the big, important things.
DeleteSo sweet! What a fantastic list. I love that you dressed up like Carl & Ellie for your race!
ReplyDeleteThank you. So many people dress up for the runs--it's fun to look around and see everyone's costumes.
DeleteThe soup in the Vietnamese spread looks delicious - but you know I love soup!
ReplyDeleteMourning doves are a favorite of mine, too.
And I definitely love the idea of future blossoms..
The soup was actually a dip for the eggrolls, but it was delicious. (Fortunately, our waitress explained to us what to do with all that food---otherwise, I would have thought it was a soup, too!)
DeleteOh, I get your costumes now! Wonderful! And so wonderful to catch up with good friends. You can tell the good ones because the relationship starts up where it left off no matter how many years have gone by.
ReplyDeleteWe really needed a floating house to put our costumes in context. :-)
DeleteI love Ken & Mimi & I am so grateful you got to see them. I like your gratitude list,too.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that would have made it better would have been seeing you and Scott, too. :-)
DeleteI hear owls around our house all the time, but in 10 years I have yet to see one. I would lose my gourd from the excitement of it. That one in your tree is huge!
ReplyDeleteOh my word, I enjoy it when you talk about the things you and John do together. It is clear the two of you have fun together. One day, Bryan and I will be out there to do something fun with you!
I'm glad you were able to get together with your friends from Washington. Our Confirmation meeting last night was all about relationships. We talked about how a person is fortunate to have a handful of dear friends in a lifetime. Sounds like Mimi and Ken are ones that fall into that category.
We'd love to have you come visit sometime. Maybe we could all do a run together! :-)
DeleteI love your owl! I hear one around here but have yet to actually see him. The mourning doves on the other hand are often on my fence -- of course the bird seed I put out probably helps! They are so pretty and so patient - they wait for the other birds to get done eating first!
ReplyDeleteWhat I am NOT thankful for today and which I think you will understand - I lost my Fitbit yesterday! I am more dependent on my Fitbit than I am my cell phone! The new one will be here tomorrow... I am thankful for Amazon and fast shipping!
Oh, no! I'm sorry you lost your Fitbit. I'm also thankful for Amazon and fast shipping!
DeleteBunnies, doves, and owls. Oh my.
ReplyDelete:-)
I love the hoot and the gentle cooing of a dove in the morning. An owl at night is a perfectly nightish sound.
:-)
I am thankful I can hear the sounds of those birds, even if I can't see a hopping bunny.
Sounds provide such an important backdrop to our days (and nights). I love hearing the animals.
Delete