Sunday, May 18, 2008

41 Grattitudes

Taking a cue from Ariel at Electrolicious, I'm capping the celebration of my birthday week with this list of 41 things for which I am grateful this year.

1. My husband, who tries to understand me even when it's a lot of work
2. My parents, each for their own gifts
3. My sister, brother-in-law, and their kids, who are a riotous whirl of pandemonium - a party packaged in a single family form
4. My friends all of whom have broad shoulders to lean on and make me smile
5. The way the light comes into the downstairs windows in the morning
6. The lush canopy of trees that envelops our yard in the summer
7. Grilled sausage
8. Chocolate in various forms, be it truffle, solid and bite-worthy block or cake
9. Color and the way it evokes different feelings
10. Fuzzy lambswool-lined slippers
11. The feeling that comes from doing good
12. Bloggers who inspire me to write better or more regularly
13. Mentors
14. Splendid serendipity
15. Commonalities
16. Extemporaneous commentary
17. Ephemera, as both a word and a concept
18. Colorful graphics
19. Well-told stories
20. Flights of fancy
21. Stationery stores
22. Musings
23. Connections
24. Cartoons
25. Alliteration
26. Unmitigated joy
27. Laughter
28. Insight
29. Smooth-writing pens
30. Confidence
31. Backstory
32. Clean slates
33. Fresh laundry
34. Perfectly timed hugs
35. Reading before bed
36. Surprisingly good movies
37. Energized discussion
38. Meetings of minds
39. Course correction
40. Turquoise
41. Understanding

6 comments:

Kitty said...

aw, Happy Birthday, girrl!

I hope you had a wonderful day, and I wish you the best for the coming year.

I have a feeling that no matter what, you will have a wonderful year.

Hooray!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Kitty! Yeah, this whole month's been pretty awesome so far, and this year's birthday was really great. Celebrated all week long, first with family, then friends, and it was just a really fun week. And it made me appreciate all that's going on right now... so when I read Ariel's birthday post, I thought it was a great way to reflect and honor the passage of time.

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Glad to hear you had a great birthday. I love this post, a reminder of the small things that inspire and bring us joy :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you, fish! It's so easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees in everyday life, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday!

I give thanks for a few basic things every night but I think I'm going to do a list of 41 for MY birthday next week!

Anonymous said...

Go for it, Steph!

Everyone makes such a big deal about 40, and all the other 0 birthdays... every birthday should be made into an extravaganza!

Making that list gave me a huge sense of satisfaction, a miracle when I realize how much time I've wasted searching for "something else" in life.