Day Ten: 30 Days of Gratitude

The tenth day of gratitude may not have been a perfect ten, but I still find myself grateful for both the blessings and even the challenges that this day brought.  I had the day off of work, but not the day off from gratitude.  So, here is today’s top three list of things I am grateful for:

1. Caring for my sick daughter.  My day off from work unexpectedly became my oldest daughter’s sick day from school.  While I never like to see her not feeling well, I thoroughly enjoyed quiet time alone with her today.  I was glad to be the one to give her plenty of liquids, medicine, and tender loving care, and the feeling turned out to be mutual.  As she was curled up on the couch earlier this evening, she said, “I don’t like being sick, but I like staying home with you.  Thanks for taking care of me, Mommy.”  She was a model patient, and it was a caring for her today.
2. Beginning my day with a therapeutic massage.  One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2014 was to treat myself to a massage each month, and I continued honoring this resolution by keeping my appointment this morning.  I was fortunate enough to have been referred to this massage therapist by a friend, and the price is affordable and the location is convenient.  There is such power in the human touch, and allowing myself to be pampered for sixty peaceful minutes is one of my favorite forms of self-care.  I left feeling completely relaxed and at ease with myself, and I was ready to face the rest of the day feeling much more Zen-like. 
3. Receiving a text from my friend, Dina.  If you read some of my posts last week, you learned that Dina’s twenty year old son was killed in a house fire on Halloween.  Since then, we have been in daily contact, and I was grateful that tonight’s text from her displayed some lighthearted comments, as she deserves to feel some peace during this time of intense grief.  My hope is that joy will continue to find its way through the darkness, and I remain thankful for her friendship.  You are my hero, Dina!

I hope that my daughter wakes up feeling much better, but if it’s another sick day, we will make the most of it and be grateful nonetheless.

Just one thing each day . . .