Gratitude

My friend, Taralyn, has often been an inspiration to me. Even now, when I haven't seen her for months, she continues to be… oddly enough, through Facebook. Her grandma has been quite ill lately with cancer. This grandma was another grandma to me for quite some time when Taralyn lived with me. It was good for me to have another grandma at that time, because I was really missing my grandma. So I've been really thinking a lot about her and have probably been more affected by this than I would be for most any other friends' grandmas. But Taralyn has been living with Grandma while going to school and has been taking very good care of her. Sadly, Grandma is on her last leg of this journey on earth. While dealing with that, she got news that her 7-year old niece got a tumor on her brain and was being rushed to Primary Children's.

I've randomly been popping onto Facebook to read the statuses of her various family members that I am friends with. Today I read Taralyn's. A few days ago she posted, "Taralyn is going to start doing grateful posts and hopes it spreads like wildfire! :) So today I'm grateful for…" The next several statuses were different things she was grateful for. (Mom, you would be able to sympathize with one: "Taralyn is grateful for waterproof mascara.")

Gratitude is something that I feel very strongly about. There have been many times in my life that I've had gratitude boards or books to keep track of everything I'm grateful for. I've given many talks on gratitude. I constantly try to focus on all the things I am grateful for. And yet, somehow, when I read that, I felt very humbled. I immediately went and changed my Facebook status to match the gratitude theme. It made me ponder about my life and the things I am grateful for. And now I am in the mood for a gratitude list. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it's a start. And the next few days I'm going to start thinking of a way to start listing the things I'm grateful for again.

I am grateful for...

• BJ. For so many reasons. "[He's my] match in every way." (Name that movie? Anyone?)
• Kessa. Who knew that a simple smile could bring so much happiness?
• Dishwashers, garbage disposals, and washers and dryers in my house.
• Mugs
• Cuddling
• Knowing that my Heavenly Father knows me and cares about me.
• Service
• Being self-reliant enough to be capable of service (see this month's Visiting Teaching message.)
• BJ's willingness to do dishes.
• Harry Potter. (Yes, I am that nerdy.)
• Apple computers
• The ability to severely penny pinch in order to get out of debt.
• Sleeping all night long. Without waking up at all.
• Having a clean, organized house. (You know, on the rare occasions that it happens.)
• Motivation to be better.
• Generosity
• BJ holding me when I cry and still loving me despite it, and even because of it.
• Good decisions
• Water
• Wii Fit
• A wonderful family that raised me and continues to love and support me
• Breastfeeding
• The Atonement (if this were in order of importance, this would be way up at number one. The more I learn about it, the more humble I am, and the deeper my gratitude for it runs. And I know I've only made a crack in the dirt. Someday, I hope to open up a canyon.)
• Plants. I love, love, love plants.
• In-laws that not only have accepted me into their family, but also love me and make me feel like I'm truly a part of their family.
• My primary class. Who knew you could learn so much from 11-year olds?
• Lists.
• Examples. Thank you so much to all of you that have set good examples for me to follow.
• Best friends over the years. You know who you are.
• BJ being so much like me.
• Technology.
• The 100 Hour Board.
• Olive wood rings
• Traveling
• Cow ducks, nose bulbs, and dolls
• People who care enough to still be reading this
• BJ supporting me in all of my crazy ideas. (Cloth diapers? Natural birth? Crocheting stuffed animals?)
• Gospel discussions
• When a new tooth finally cuts through. And the immense happiness (lack of grumpiness) that follows.
• Days that I feel cute.
• Having a completely legal music library. (Which is still 4.3 days long.)
• Really good books.
• Being (almost) debt free. (Ok, we have a mortgage. But we're doing our best to get rid of that.)
• Have I mentioned BJ? Because I don't think I can mention him enough.
• Studying the Old Testament this year. Especially since I'm in Primary and can focus this year on telling the stories rather than the doctrine surrounding them. (Not that I don't appreciate the doctrine, but sometimes, stories are just so much fun!)
• Games
• Kessa's smile when she first wakes up.
• Watching Kessa learn new things.
• Cheerios in Sacrament meeting
• Talents
• Reviving old and forgotten talents
• Pictures and videos
• Having the perfect marriage

Ok, like I said, this is far from comprehensive. But I have a baby to feed. I'll be thinking of ways to continue to document my gratitude. Any ideas? Blog posts? Something on the sidebar? A list on my wall? A book? A paper chain? Facebook/Gmail statuses? Twitter posts?