Honestly, if it were not for NaBloPoMo, I probably wouldn’t be posting today. It’s been kind of a glum day for a few reasons, and I don’t want to bore you with them here.

Sometimes when either Eric or I are feeling down and want to snap out of it, we’ll exchange a list of ten things we’re currently grateful for, so instead of focusing on the glumness, I am going to make a list of happiness.

I am grateful for:

1. having the freedom to move to Maine this spring—I know we’re so very fortunate to even have a choice about where we want to live.
2. wonderful friends—friends from the past who are still so dear to me, friends from internet (and I know that sounds weird, but the bonds I’ve made with some of them stood the ‘in real life’ test), and newer people who are increasingly becoming cemented as lifelong friends. I am so lucky to know and love these people. They are a quirky, complex, and oh so diverse group, and I love that I can go to so many regions of the world and see familiar faces.
3. a husband who offers to make sugar cookies from scratch when I’m glum, who puts sticky notes in the car to brighten my day before I go somewhere without him, who brings me hot tea in the morning, and who cares so much about our future in terms of both finances and happiness.
4. this picture. I have admired and followed Lyndsay’s work for a long time, so when she had a session open up for this year, I jumped to book it, especially since we won’t have much more time for a session before the move. I can’t wait to see the rest—I think this reveals so much of who Eric and I are together.
5. I know it sounds cliche, but my family, including my in-laws. By and large, they’re such wonderful people. We’re going to miss our proximity to them tremendously when we’re in Maine, but I think we will actually see them more, given the expected week long visits. We see them sporadically now, but I am already mollified thinking of the quality time we’ll cram in with them during the longer visits. I know they’ll catch us if we ever should fall, and that’s so liberating. I want that for our future kids.
6. my new Sony camera system. We’re buzzing thinking of new ways to do business—I love my clients and our character sessions, but I’m so ready to push things even further. Having the new camera setup will help things move along even faster once we get settled in Portland.
7. my pups. They have taught me more about unconditional love than I thought there was to know.
8. there being so many passionate, committed people in this world. I am continually inspired by those who see injustice and immediately jump to empower the people in horrible situations. I aspire to be more like them as a matter of course as well as in my grander life scheme. I don’t want to live an ordinary life if that means watching idly.
9. having confidence, both in myself and in my ability to grow and learn constantly in spite of stumbling blocks. There are hard times that make me feel like things just are not going to go anywhere good, and while I don’t always welcome those times, I know they are shaping me in ways I don’t comprehend.
10. and finally, for living in the age of immediate knowledge gratification. The internet is my confidant, my doctor, my veterinarian, my carpet cleaner, my post office, my task master, my mall… I’m not sure what I would do without it!

What are you grateful for right now?

__________________________________