eimarra | In gratitude

I’m looking at today, the first Monday of a brand new year, and thinking about how much I have to be grateful for. Good friends, family, health — obvious, but worth mentioning. As I said in today’s earlier post, I’m particularly grateful to my friend Bonnie who helps me with my writing, but there are many others who have helped me through the years with that and who still help me with motivation, encouragement, and feedback — Dawn, Val, Maripat, Margaret, Elizabeth, Beth, Ed, Marcy, Stuart — on and on. My mom encourages me and believes I can do anything. My brothers both encourage me, albeit occasionally through left-handed compliments. My husband and son, even if they don’t love everything I write, are always excited about my acceptances and try to make allowances for the times I write while the family’s around.

What I’d like to do this year is to have a post every Monday talking about specific things or people I’m grateful for. It’s good to remember all that I already have in my life, and it makes me start the week on a good note. Prepare yourself for 52 weeks of gratitude.

Today: I’m grateful for time with my family. Everyone’s home today for a long New Year’s weekend, and it would be easy to be annoyed that I can’t write and everything as usual because of the activity. Instead, right now the kids are decorating gingerbread houses (geodesic domes). Later, I’m taking the girl to get some new shoes, then off to a playground. Might get in some more D&D with my husband and son later, though that’s iffy, since the boy has to go to school tomorrow. (We’re playing Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, for those who might be interested.)

Life is good. Time with family is good. And I am grateful that I have it.