My word for 2024 was GRATITUDE. To help myself keep the focus on that word all year, I started keeping a gratitude journal on January 1, 2024, and I’ve been writing at least 3-4 things I’m grateful for every single day since then. I shared little snapshots of each month last year to hold myself accountable, and since I ended up enjoying these posts so much, I decided to continue them in 2025.
I’m only pulling one item from my gratitude journal per day to share here (okay, sometimes two or three), and some of the things are really big things like good health and good relationships, some things are humorous, and some things are the little things that most of the time go unnoticed. Overall, though, the purpose of this whole exercise is to remember that even on the very worst of days, there is ALWAYS something for which to be grateful.
Always.
April was a
month that brought along a little bit of healing after grieving the loss of our
sweet doggie, Maui, in March. The grief
still comes at unexpected times, but thankfully, less frequently now, and it
was nice to not cry every single day in April like I did in March. April was actually pretty enjoyable, and we
also got a break from the daily grind which helped a lot.
In April I was
grateful…
- For live music at The Grand Ole Opry with the whole
fam. We all loved it!
- For a safe drive from Nashville to Dollywood… I had no
clue it was three hours long. Haha.
- That we had good weather for Dollywood and that all of
the tornadoes and bad weather stayed west of us. Sheesh.
- For a safe, easy breezy drive home and only having to
stop once on the way despite the fact that it was a 5-6 hour drive.
- For another trip around the sun. While it’s wild (and a little scary)
getting older, I sure never take it for granted. I’m grateful for every year that passes,
for every wrinkle, for every grey hair, and for every single day that I get
to walk on this earth. I’m so
grateful for my good health, too. I
do not get the birthday scaries like so many others do. Not yet, anyway. Haha.
- For an outpouring of love yesterday and today from family
and friends, past and present. I
had some really good conversations with people who I rarely get to talk to,
and it was just so nice to catch up with so many people.
- For an oversized, snuggly sweatshirt… why oh why is it
still so cold?!
- For feeling great physically today… my gosh, it makes
a HUGE difference in my overall productivity and mood when I’m not dizzy
and filled with tension and pain.
- For my girlfriends (and my dad) for surprising me with
the sweetest painting of Maui and my childhood dog, Bill, with St. Francis
that my dad painted for me. And for
my friend, Jeannine, for her miniature version of the same painting. I will cherish both of them forever.
- For a clean vehicle!!
We finally took my Telluride to the car wash and got it all shined
up inside and out. It’s amazing how
great it still looks after five years!
- For another fun poker night with our friends. I love these monthly poker nights so
very much! Our group of friends is
just so great!
- For a fun birthday gathering with my father-in-law and
my sister-in-law and her family. We
played What Do You Meme Family and it was so hilarious.
- That my music on my phone finally synced properly with
my computer after loads of issues a few weeks ago.
- For some advice on high school scheduling from a teacher
at our school who has a child in Jacob’s class and also has an older child
in high school… it was nice to speak with someone who has a child who has
been through most of high school already.
- For a hot chai tea with a splash of vanilla… thanks
for the recommendation, Mr. Steve! And
also, for nods from Maui in heaven… a dog treat reminder from Amazon and
Olivia’s card to Maui in heaven that came back as undeliverable. Both made me cry, but in a good way.
- For my mother-in-law for taking Olivia home and then getting
her to dance so I could finally go to one of Jacob’s golf matches… and for
gorgeous weather for the golf match!
- For my parents for picking up the kids from school
today so Brian and I could travel to Chattanooga for a concert. For live music. For an excellent show. For one-on-one time with Brian. For the cutest little hotel room.
- That Jesus died on the cross for us to save us from
our sins and grant us eternal life in heaven. For a somber Stations of the Cross
service on Good Friday. And to be
able to hug my little brother who I don’t get to see too often. He was in town for the day, and we were
able to have a quick dinner with him.
- For Brian for picking up my last-minute Target order
when all of the Easter basket goodies got delayed at the last minute.
- That Jesus Christ is risen today!! Hallelujah! Also, for baby snuggles and puppy
snuggles.
- For an extra
day off since it was Easter Monday.
- For a beautiful pinning ceremony for Jacob… I cannot
believe my baby is going to be in high school next year. Also, for an ENT doctor who continues to
advocate for me even though there’s not much else he can do for me.
- For a good outcome at my emergency appointment with my
GYN appointment. I’d been having
pain (pretty bad pain some of the time) for weeks, and it turned out to be
a cyst that had burst on my ovary.
Thankfully, he said it looked normal and that no further testing
was needed.
- For the privilege of being able to sit in on Jacob’s
and Olivia’s music lessons every week… what a joy it is to watch them learn
and create and play music that I love so very much.
- For Life360 so I was able to see what Jacob was up to during
his eighth grade all day trip to Six Flags. #StalkerVibes
- That Olivia had a safe and fun time at the ice skating
birthday party last night with no incidents. I was so worried since I couldn’t get
out there with her because of my dizziness.
- For a fun day exploring Arts in the Park in our
city.
- For my List Master app and my planner for keeping me
organized during this very chaotic time of year.
- For priests and pastors who preach Jesus’s actual
message and not the Christian Nationalism that many people in our administration
are touting today.
- For funny memes.
;o)
Happy Monday,
y’all! What is something you’re grateful
for today?
What a wonderful month of things to be thankful for!
ReplyDeleteApril sounds like a good month and you had a lot to be grateful for!
ReplyDeleteI always love to read this post!
ReplyDelete