Practising Gratitude

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic is "10 Times You Felt Grateful Last Week." This is a really good topic for today, since I really need to stop and take a look at the good things that are going on. I've been focusing too much on the negative aspects of my life the past couple of days, which is never a good thing. And there is so much to be grateful for!

1.  I had to mail out 91 packets at work, and unfortunately we don't have a postage meter. So it meant a trip to the post office for stamps. The packets ended up needing $1.52 in postage, which meant I had to put a combination of 5 stamps on each envelope. As I was standing at the counter working on this, a woman in line commented that I looked like I had a lot of work to do. To my surprise, she then asked if she could help. So she put stamps on envelops until it was her turn to be waited on by the postal workers. Then, to my even greater surprise, she came back to help finish the job. Her explanation was that she would have felt bad leaving me to do it all by myself. I had never met the woman; she didn't attend the church I work for; and she had no reason to help me. But I am very grateful that she took the time to help a stranger.

2.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to go out to dinner with my daughter and enjoy her wonderful company.

3.  I'm grateful that my oldest has found a good job, which she started on Friday. I'm also grateful that her boyfriend got the teaching position in a great private school. I can stop worrying about the two of them.

4.  It sounds silly, but I'm grateful to have discovered that Pollo Tropical offers a vegeterian version of their TropiChop. It is so hard to stay on my diet, even though I know how much better it makes me feel, because I have to plan all my meals ahead and cook everything at home. Knowing that I can go to the drive-thru if I don't want to cook makes the situation so much easier.

5.  I'm grateful every time I go to a knit night (which includes the Saturday morning group). The friendships that I have found in the groups mean so very much to me, and I love all of the fiberistas. Without them, I'd probably just hole up in my apartment and become that really weird old lady that the neighbors gossip about.

6.  I'm grateful for all the volunteers who come in regularly to help me at work. They're more than friends; they're my second family.

7.  I'm grateful for my Nook, and for the daughter that talked me into getting it last year. I love that I always have something to read, even when I can't settle down and have trouble figuring out what I want to read. With over 400 books at my fingertips, there's always something to read. The Nook was a lifesaver this weekend, when I ended up on the couch miserable with a sinus headache and a fibro flair-up. And I'm grateful for the public library, which lets me download books onto the Nook when I discover that none of the 400+ books I already own interest me at that moment. Most of all, I'm grateful that the Nook prevents anyone from seeing what I'm reading, which ended up being a series of slutty romances with no redeeming quality to them.

8.  I'm grateful that Josh and his family tracked me down, and that I'll get to see them again next weekend. I haven't seen Josh is almost 9 years. He was such a cute little boy. I always considered him one of my kids, and I think about him often. He's 18 now, and I'm looking forward to seeing him all grown up.

9.  I'm grateful for Missy Gray, and the way she always knows when I need to cuddle a bit.

10.  I'm grateful that my son friended me on facebook. Even though he doesn't live very far away, I don't see him nearly enough. Our schedules are just too different, and neither one of us are big on chatting on the phone. Now I'll be able to touch base with him a little easier.