i am a butterfly…

Posts Tagged ‘gratitude’

With the way the economy is looking right now, I’m so very grateful that Scott has a job and that I have work. Work for me has been down a bit, because it’s down for my clients, but I have a couple of bread and butter clients who help get me through.

And as for Scott’s job, it appears to be stable, which is a huge relief. The firm has been making cuts here and there, but not many to staffing. They’re even still giving bonuses this year, which is great, because we expected to hear that bonuses were cancelled. The cuts have taken the form of things like no holiday parties, which saved them several million.

So I’m grateful that, even though things are tight, we’re doing alright, which is more than many others can say.

Today I’m grateful for Ravelry. I’m grateful for Ravelry every day, actually. I’ve learned so much about knitting since I joined there last year. The site and the community are such an incredible resource, and the fact that Casey and Jess offer it free to users is amazing. In just 10 months, it’s become an indispensible part of my knitting life. I’m so happy it exists!

Today I’m grateful for my health.

Yeah, I know I moan and complain about my health a lot, sometimes even with legitimate reasons, but I’m generally pretty healthy, and I’m really thankful for that. The infertility sucks, and the cancer thing sucks, but even if it turns out that the cancer thing is back, all I’ll have to do is have some surgery and that will be that. It would suck, but I’d be alive and even untreated, I’d still live.

There’s a guy on a message board I read who is slowly being eaten alive by cancer. He posts updates now and again and the latest is not encouraging. He’s dying a slow, painful death, and this has been going on for a year.  Since the birth of his daughter, as a matter of fact. If I remember correctly, he was having his first chemo while his infant girl was still in the hospital, and she’s over a year old now. Through it all, he has defined grace, strength, and courage. Even though he’s in pain every day, terrible pain, he gets up and takes care of the house and baby while his wife goes out and works her ass off to make sure they have an income and health care. These people are my heroes.

And so today I’m grateful for the health that I’m blessed with, so that I don’t have to be as graceful, strong, or courageous as J. and his wife. or live each day in excruciating pain. This is a gift.

Today I’m grateful that I live in a city with a great public transportation system.

While we’re definitely feeling the pinch of the economy these days – groceries are crazy expensive, our rent went up 10% this year, our electricity bill gets higher all the time – one area where we haven’t felt it very keenly is with gas. The reason for that is that Scott takes the subway to work and I work at home. So while it hurt when we hit our first $40 fill-up – small car, small tank – it doesn’t hurt so badly since we only have to do that every 2 weeks or so.

Today, I’m grateful for all of you. All of you who come here and read this site and comment. I’m grateful for the things you share, for the support you offer, for making me laugh, and for just being you.

Thanks.

I am so grateful for the N train, which allows me to get from the east side to the west side in relative comfort. Yea, verily.

Has it really been 6 days since I posted? Sheesh. And I’m still WAY behind on the ABC-Along, too.

Anyway, today I’m grateful for the very cool breezes coming through the wide open windows. Yesterday was humid and warm and I hated it. Today is perfect. A day like this, with a blue sky and nice breeze, can make you really happy to be alive.

Goblin is happy, too. He loves weather like this. It makes him race and skitter all over the house like a maniac.

Today, I’m grateful that I’m able to have a washer and dryer at home, no matter how small they are. This allows me to mount an expedition up Mount Laundry without having to spend the day in a dingy, dismal laundromat.

On cold, deary, rainy days like this, I’m grateful for bright pink handknit socks to keep my feet warm. When I wear socks like this, I feel delight every time I look at my feet.

 It’s come to my attention - through my own notice, not through anyone else’s – that I complain a lot. That’s not going to stop any time soon. That’s what I do: I complain. And I have lots of things, valid or otherwise, to complain about.

However, there’s more to my life than just complaints. I’m actually a very fortunate person in so many ways, big and small. So I think it would be nice if I focus on those things once in a while and I’m going to try to start posting one thing for which I’m grateful every day. Of course, I know myself and it will most likely be semi-daily, but that’s okay.

For today, I am grateful that I have decent health care coverage which, while not perfect, allows me to see doctors when I need to without having to decide between my health and eating for the week.