Day #10 - I am grateful for Peace

Day #10 - I am grateful today for the soothing words that calm my aching heart and soul.

Day # 9 Grateful for Hubby's Love

Day # 9
I have nothing to say except that I am grateful for my husband and his love.

Day # 8 - I Scream, You Scream . . .

Ice cream is one of those yummy treats that I love year round.  Today, I am simply happy to be able to have a little bit of ice cream.

Yep, it's simple - but for Day #8 -

I am grateful for the simple pleasures - like ice cream, chocolate and a warm bagel.

Day #7 There are Breaks in the Clouds

I love this picture.  There are clearly a lot of clouds that have gathered, but there is a break in them and the light can be seen in the darkness of night.  

Day #7

I am grateful for the breaks in the clouds and the ability that I have to see them as well as the company that I have when in the darkest nights.  It’s never as hard when you aren’t alone.

Day #6 - I am Grateful for Faith

Today, I am grateful for faith.  Faith is a powerful thing.  When the days are dark and hard to manage, faith can get you through.  After all, tomorrow will come, in spite of today's challenges and faith is what tells us that it will.  Faith can inspire us to act, give us courage and strength when we are struggling and give us comfort when we are down.

For Day #6 -

Faith is a bluebird
You see from afar
It's for real
And as sure as the first evening star

You can't touch it
Or buy it or wrap it up tight
But it's there just the same
Making things turn out right
- Rufus - Walt Disney's The Rescuers

I am grateful for the days that faith has rescued me.

Day #5 No More Grave Shifts

This week, my hubby ended his stint with graveyard shifts.  We've gone through spurts, sometimes talking via skype or on his cell phone during his slow times, with much of the time spent with us on opposite sleep schedules.  This is problematic when your only form of meaningful conversation is phone.  One of us was always sleepy when we'd talk.

We've spent more than one phone call with one of us fading and finally dropping off to sleep.  This week, he goes to days only - well long twelve hour days of getting off at 10 pm, but we will be on the same sleep schedule.  I am very happy about this!

When I've gone to see him, I go to work with him (that will stop now) and at slow times, we watch a movie, play a game, surf the internet or just talk.  One of those nights, I was sneaking around the office around 3 am and began to play papparazzi.  We even perfected our wedding reception punch (for wedding #2) at 3 am one night.

So, for day #5 . . .

I am grateful for the time that I have spent with my hubby and that at 3 am I could play papparazzi!  At 3 am, anything is possible.

Day #4 Peyton Manning is more fun than Mayor Hancock

I have spent way too much time in airports over the last year or two.  Right before I became a frequent visitor to the airport, I worked doing mystery shops there.  This was something that I really enjoyed.  Pretty much right after that, we began this long distance courtship which developed into a long distance marriage. 

Today, on day #4

I am grateful for the technology that we have to travel, the low fares when we can find them, and I love that

Peyton Manning’s voice is on the train at DIA since is far more entertaining than Michael Hancock’s.

   

Day #3 Find Happiness in the Small Things

Laughter is an amazing medicine.   

Even if (and perhaps especially if) you are really tired, stressed or otherwise overwhelmed with life.  I watched an episode of “Phineas and Ferb” with the girls the other day, and for some reason, the arch-nemesis of Perry the Penguin, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, really tickled my fancy with his endless quest to take over the Tri-State area with imaginative contraptions all “ultimately doomed to fail” because of their “-inator” naming.  Trying to pretty up the same approach by calling it by different names won’t work.

So for Day #3 – 

I am glad for the messages that can come from all places, and for the laughter that can brighten my day.   

After all, when you are really tired, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz is really rather amusing.

Day # 2 As far as airports go – we’ll no longer have Provo

Being in a long distance marriage for the past 13 months has had its challenges.  My hubby and I are getting too good at the whole security thing.  (We even went to the courthouse and instinctively reached to take off our shoes!) 

Frontier Airlines used to fly from Denver to Provo daily.  This incredible flight ends this week, meaning that we will only be going in and out of Salt Lake City from here until the final move.

I will miss the Provo Airport for several reasons.  They have the nicest bathrooms, toothbrushes to freshen up, and the nicest TSA agents that I have ever met.  One day when leaving, I was especially upset and cried my way through the security line.  The agent looked back and saw my husband looking at the point of separation, asked me what was wrong, and I sobbed that we would not be seeing each other again for at least a month.  She handed me a box of tissues and brought me a chair to sit in while I waited for the plane to board.

Day # 2

I am grateful for those people who go outside of themselves to touch other people’s lives.  I pray that I can do the same when others cross my path that need a boost, a smile or a kind word.

Day # 1 - Introduction to the Count Your Blessings Year

I have had a generalized aversion to Christmas cards and letters.  (Not really the cards, but the letters that come with everything rosy and perfect at everyone's house, everyone's house except mine, that is.)  A while back, one of  my step-daughters remarked about a family, "They are just too perfect."  My husband and I both replied that no one is without challenges, and that this family was no different.  I reflected on this conversation and wondered if this was part of my challenges with holiday letters.

I realized that my paradigm on holiday cards was one of avoidance, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."  I've struggled with depression for many years now.  Never mind the reasons that I did/do, those are not really important to this experiment.  The reasons are there, they are real, and they have been with me for a while.

With the advent of a new year, I've been thinking about what it is that I want to accomplish this year.  There are several things that I want to have happen, certainly.  What I want to accomplish this year is to beat the looming darkness that seems to always be threatening me.  Realizing that I can't really change all of the triggers of this, I know that I need to change my perceptions.  By doing so, I can change the way I see things.

I thought about the paradigm of the people that send out the cheery letters and decided that rather than approach my daily life as though there is a target on my back, that I would acknowledge that there are people that are actively trying to destroy me, my family and my happiness.  They are there, real, and don't need my help to do so.  I am going into an intense self-designed program - the daily acknowledgement of my blessings and the good that I can find in the world, myself, my family and friends.

Daily may seem a bit much, but I know that it takes a lot to change a habit.  I will only be able to dismiss the pain and panic of the past by intensive work.  I invite you to join me on this journey.  If you feel like following, feel free.  If you feel like commenting, feel free.  If you don't like a "Pollyanna" point of view, you may not like this at all.

So, for Day #1 -

My blessing to be grateful for this day is that in spite of it all, I am loved by my family - my husband, children, step-children and parents.