Some of my friends are posting daily on Facebook what they are most grateful for this year.  Every day this month, they have posted things they are grateful for and each time I have read one of their posts a smile comes across my face. I love them, but haven’t replicated them or create my own this year beyond one vain attempt.

It has been an especially hard November between work,writing, car repairs and doctor appointments.  I haven’t known which way is up for a while now.

We need more gratitude and less attitude in our world. I need more gratitude and less negativity in my life. I have been letting a lot of things get to me. A lot of things that I have no control over which is actually the first think on my personal gratitude list.

1. All the things that are out of my control are reminders that I don’t need to be in control all the time.

2. A neighbor full of friends and colorful people.  The last week or so has been rough on me mentally. I just haven’t had the bounce back that I normally do. My neighbor, Mike, has come to check on me twice. Love across the street reminds me to stay positive and lets me vent when I need to. Joey, our newest neighbor, has been mowing the lawn that we share.  There are also lost of cool characters that inspire characters for my fiction.

3. My parents. I know this one is normally a given, but I lucked out when it came to parental units.  Momma and I went to Ikea the other day and this happened.

Sharky and Drag-Drag chilling in our cart.

The best part is that both stuff animals came home. Momma decided a week or so ago that a friend of mine needed the beagle as a seeing eye dog for the blind giraffe we gave her named Ovid. The dragon was for me because I was having a bad day and he cheered me up.

Ovid the Orphaned Giraffe on his way to his new home.

4. All four of my jobs. I teach high school during the day, ESOl at night,work at a theme park and read tarot.  While this year has been especially taxing me physically and mental, I am grateful for the work I have.  It is so much better than the alternative. I am able to pay bills on time and am working on getting ahead. Two old bills paid off this month and another one scheduled for next month.

5. Time to breath.  Even though it might not seem like it. I actually do have moments of calm in my day. Each of them is a treasure that I intend to take advantage of more in the coming year.