Daily Gratitudes 2018

[Lessstressedhemum]

A new thread for a new year.

A safe, quiet place to pause, breathe and count our blessings, great or small. Everyone is welcome: of all faiths or none at all, whether you post regularly or just once, whatever you are grateful for, you are welcome here.

We would love to share all the things that bring us joy or just make life a little more bearable.

I'm just so glad that my kids have friends, Verbena. Three of them are autistic and really struggled to make friends. Now they each have a small group of very close, supportive friends who accept them as they are. I love each one of them dearly. DS1 still has the three boys who were his very first friends, whom he met at secondary school, and he is 28 now, living in a different country and working in a very responsible, well paid job. I regularly give thanks for those boys.

A lie in
Access to medical care
A good chat with my sister in Australia yesterday.

That’s lovely OP. I’m not (diagnosed as!) autistic (though based on my experience as a teacher and indeed a human being, I do think we all sit somewhere on the spectrum) but did struggle to make friends in school. Met my very best friends at university and 10 years on they are like another family. Quality not quantity is a lovely thing!

Lie in here too (because apparently at nearly 1, 4am cluster feeding is a thing we do in this house. Oh good.)

Coffee (see above)

Laughter

My quiet, shy yet oh so loyal and funny DH.
More time to spend quality moments with each other.
The friendly coffee shop owners who talked art and literature with me earlier after I was stood up by a friend.

Long lasting, close friendships are a wonderful thing, Verbena Having people who know you well and whom you know well in return, who support you and stand by you and who are prepared to overlook your faults and misdemeanors can't be over valued.

lying in a warm, comfy bed listening to the pouring rain batter against the windows.
The smell of the air and the wet earth when the rain stops
Loads of birds on my tree, eating the berries.

The luxury of waking when my body decides it's had enough sleep
The smell of brewing coffee and baking pastries in readiness for a friend's arrival
Autumnal sunshine and blue skies

The kindness and humour of the nurse and urogynaecologist who are trying to help me deal with my birth injuries. Feeling informed and empowered and listened to.

Laughing with my sister.

Coffee and home made banana muffins.

I hope you are OK, Verbena, and that the medics can help.

A Sunny day
washing on the line
turmeric tea

Muddling along fine thanks lessstressed but baby was over 10lbs and back to back, so I’ve got an annoying cocktail of nerve damage, scarring, stretched out pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organ prolapse - gets me down a bit as I was previously a long distance runner and my bladder/womb don’t approve of being bounced, but in the grand scheme of things I’m alive with a healthy very-nearly-one-year-old, and I’m being well looked after, so it really could be worse!

The sound of the rain on my windows.

Lazy breakfast on the sofa.

Coffee with dear friends.

Managing a short run without mishap or horrible symptoms afterwards (first time I’ve been out comfortably since the start of my pregnancy so nearly 2 years. Was so happy I had a little weep on my own in a muddy field )

A sleeping baby so we managed to sit together and watch a film last night

My mum

My lovely neighbours
Still being in touch with friends from many years ago and sharing laughter with them
A good nights's sleep

Line dried washing
Home cooked food
A quiet evening.

Having a little chuckle here, Less - washing has featured 27 times on this thread so far! I haven't drilled down the info to see which of the two of us is more enamoured of a good drying day, though - I'd estimate we're equal.

I’ve got a video of terry nappies drying on my line when the baby was nearly 2 weeks overdue and I was sweaty and huge and anxious because it made me feel calm amid the hormones. I still watch it if my head’s whirling

Serious mindfulness in that video!

Another run

Watching the baby discover woodlice in the garden. Sitting there both covered in earth giggling, and suddenly remembering the hideousness of IVF and not quite believing my luck.

Ripe blackberries along the lane.

I love seeing terry nappies on the line. Line drying makes me happy! More folk should be like us, Optimist - easily pleased

Willow bark tincture
Picking wild fruit
Listening to the bees in the garden

The honking of a flock of geese making their late summer journey
Chatty phone call with DS
My old cat insinuating her way onto my lap/keyboard for a snooze

The whole family waking up in a nice mood.

Ripe tomatoes

Looking forward to seeing my parents later,

Sunshine
Fluffy bunnies
Friends

Dappled sunshine in the woods

Ripe blackberries

Family

DD and her friend both survived their first week at college
DS3 slotted right in to his first week of HND
hot tea

Feeling at home where we live

Lovely inlaws

More sunshine

(Bonus bit of gratitude: these toes and their presence in my life...

OOOOHHHH! Lovely, squidgy, tickely baby feet, I love them.

Picking wild fruit
rosehip syrup
the strength and patience that faith brings.

Golden hour run through the fields

Singing with the baby

A lie in