Sept 30th

Today was filled with lots of little wins.

The habitual tidy before the marvelous Deb arrives at 12pm to give the house a once over with the vacuum and cleaning cloths (so, SO grateful for her help).  It is the most wonderful feeling leaving a tidy house and returning to a CLEAN and tidy house *sigh*.

A coffee and lunch date with one major and three mini spunkalicious women.  I think there were more toileting trips than completed conversations, but that's the beauty of having friends with babes.  You learn how to pick up where you left off 10 minutes before.  And you marvel at your skill at conducting a conversation while walking away from the person you're talking to, twisting your neck at the craziest angle, being dragged by a "busting" button, until you're no longer in eye contact - and still finding it all so very normal in the scheme of conversation with kidlets in tow.

Two luxurious hours spent in the library, reading to the point of being hoarse!  Then playing strategic games involving transporting yourself from one end of the kids library to the other stepping on only the orange squares, then only the blue and grey squares, then only the yellow squares.  I loved having an eight or nine year old boy invite his way into our game by saying out loud, in our vicinity, to no one in particular "I wish someone would give ME a challenge".  Bless.  He was giggling with glee leaping from one square to another, completing his challenge as his Dad arrived from another section of the library to collect him.  It was lovely to see the smile on his Dad's face spread as the realisation dawned on him of what was happening.  To share space with a child with such inner joy and confidence, to seek play wherever it may be found, had me smiling for hours.

Lots of sorting and boxing up of Lucy's clothes of years past.  The letting go of feeling the need to receive monies in exchange for the items.  Instead, feeling good that they will be well worn and well loved by more gorgeous girls in our community.  And I do so love seeing a button I adore dressed in an item that I loved so much on my very own button once upon a time.

The setting of the intention of an alcohol-free month ahead.  And creating an online support group, encompassing many people battling demons of their own, also seeking the support of others moving through a similar transition of giving up their poison of choice.  Support groups are twofold wonderful.  Support and accountability.  I feel this month ahead will be more difficult for me than this month past in my yoga challenge.  I will approach it as I approached yoga.  One day at a time.

I was looking at images of yoga today and the strangest sensation came over my body.  It felt wanting.  I was physically craving the postures I was looking at!  So completely bizarre!  So, while I have enjoyed not having to time-manage a practice today, I'm quite missing the physical work out.  And I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow morning, 9.30am *smile*.

Sept 16th

As I was preparing for yoga today (and yes, you do prepare all day - timing of food, hydration, that kind of thing) and it struck me about how much of a non-event it was feeling.  Like, yoga has become akin to brushing my teeth, or showering.  Something I do every day, no biggie.  Gosh!  What a head-space shift!

I was hiding down the back in the corner again, tonight.  Just not feeling like leading, not feeling warrior-strong.  When I mentioned this to my teachers, she said "Ah, up to that stage, huh?".  It's a stage?!  Kinda nice to know I'm textbook.  Gives me a feeling of comradeship.... many have gone before me in order for there to be "a stage".  I like.

So, today is day 16.  Beginning of the second half.  So far, so good, yes?!

What am I grateful for today?

Nothing outstanding really.  Little things.  The sushi guy, knowing our order.  A friendly, familiar face in the shopping centre, giving me an excuse to stop and chat about school next year.  A peer whom I studied with working in the health food shop, allowing me to snap quiz her on funky facts to do with wholistic health that I needed to get my head around.  Strawberries on special.  Mangoes in season.  A day with the best company a mama could ask for (Goose was so scrummy today, I could have eaten her whole, starting with her out-of-this-world-cute toes, if she'd have let me).

A car that works.  A man who happily gives up his evening to hang out with my girl, while I meet my challenge commitment.  Money to buy groceries.  A computer and internet connection to stay in touch with my world.  A body that bends and stretches, without too much pain.  Little things, that make up the eternal gratitude that travels with me everywhere and touches every part of my life.

I am so damn blessed and I know it.

Sept 9th

Grateful for the final few things scattered about our house finding their place today.

Grateful for weekly help with cleaning.

Grateful for 10c lemons!

Grateful for the rain and hail to remind me how much I'm looking forward to summer!

Grateful for Ben coming home early from work (again) to mind my child.

Grateful for the relationship my child has with Ben, so that this is even possible.

Grateful for my body finding the strength to complete my ninth practice in a row.

Grateful to be included in a gorgeous ritual for a first moon maiden.

Grateful for access to beautiful fabric and online cloth pad patterns gifted for free.

Grateful for a fabulous sewing machine that I saved and scrimped for (including birthday money *laugh*) two birthdays ago.

Grateful for snuggly, warm, tight bedtime cuddles.

Grateful for leftover apple and strawberry crumble.

Grateful for creme brulee flavoured black tea.

Grateful for sumptuous company at the end of a very full day.

August 27th

Grateful for warm winter days.

Ready-made salads.

Antics of children.

Laughter of friends.

Conversations of shared passions.

Strawberry daiquiris.

Rainbow yarn.

Crochet hooks.

Really bad movies.

Eye candy saving grace.

(If Jude Law's your thing.)

 

August 12th

Grateful the fever has broken and I have my girl back.

Grateful I can go to sleep tonight and not wonder if I'm going to be woken with vomit down my cheek.

Grateful that we can get off the couch today!

Grateful for the developmental milestones of fever.

Grateful for the new-found passion for drawing! (I love her drawings *swoon*.)

Grateful the cleaner is back from holidays!  Yay!

Grateful I found the catshit on the carpet before she did.

Grateful for a sense of humour in cleaning up said catshit (fourth one this week).

Grateful that said catshit was on the carpet in the craft room - rather than on my white bedcoverings again.

Grateful that tonight marks the beginning of our holiday.

Grateful that I live with an enabler that loves the things I love, like lying on an island beach for four days, doing nothing but nothing.

Grateful that we found an ace place for the felines.  They will have much fun playing with the sensor-operated sliding door, I'm sure.

Grateful for beer in the fridge.

Grateful for tiny, gorgeous organic beef patties that taste sumptuous in home-made open sandwiches.

Grateful for comfy couches and mindless entertainment on the box.

Grateful for beautiful, big strong arms to wrap around me while I melt into relaxation.

Grateful for many friends that make me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Grateful for a gorgeous man that makes me melt with a glance.

Grateful for sisters that lavish love spontaneously, unconditionally.

Grateful for my achingly beautiful child that brings out the extremes of every emotion I'm capable of experiencing - predominantly fierce, passionate, all-consuming love.

And grateful for the wondrous gift that is me, on this journey, with these souls alongside me.  I truly am having a marvelous time.

June 28th

Okay.  I'm stuck.

It was always going to happen, wasn't it?

More than six months of blogging every single day, something in your travels that you're particularly grateful for.  Most days it comes easily.  Sometimes I trawl back through fb, remembering my day, things of significance that happened, awaiting a trigger.  Or, I open up iphoto, and check the photo library on my nexus, for photo inspiration.  Either of those things usually work.

Today - I got nothing.

That is, it's not that I don't have anything to be grateful for.  More, I don't have anything interesting to talk to you about being grateful for.  I'm grateful for LOTS of things that happened today - but you've heard them all before. 

I'm grateful for time alone to work on this fiesty and demanding business I'm growing (but I think I blogged about that yesterday).  I'm grateful for the car to drive me to pick up the cat food they have almost run out of (cos those bags weigh about 3 kgs each and I needed four!  No way I'm walking those babies home!).  I'm grateful for the TMX, to whip up dinner while I continued to work.  I'm grateful for my women-folk, luring me into the night to join them crafting, when all I wanted to do was curl up with my man and get my fix of vampire lustiness, with a dose of choc and red wine.  And I'm grateful for the patience of a gorgeous being, happy to wait until my sister-fix has been satiated, for me to return home and take up our previous arrangement of lusty vampires, choc and red wine.

Aren't you bored of reading the same thing?

This blog started for me, as a way to be conscious about the fantastic things in my life, but I made it public, so you would keep me accountable for daily contributions.  Cos heavens knows, commitment and fortitude are not my strong points.  And if I thought for a minute, no one read this daily memoir, chances are it would have died of natural causes many moons ago.

But you have kept me honest, kept me accountable.

When I'm two days late in posting and I receive polite posts on my fb wall along the lines of "Ahem.  Are we not feeling very grateful today?".  I smile.  Appreciate the love, the affection.  And get my bloggin' mojo on.

So, there we go.  A gratitude acknowledgement for today.

Not very interesting, but still full of immense gratuity for the small things that make my life so rich, so rewarding, so enjoyable.

And I'm grateful for you.  For your company.  Because without you, this most likely wouldn't still be happening.  And I'm getting to the point of feeling quite proud of this achievement.  Only 148 days to go.  Eep!  I think I'll try not to think about it like that.....