Gratitude Surrounds Her

I’m grateful I found my mantra the very first day we arrived in the Outer Banks.

I’m grateful for sleepy heads on our nine hour drive.  And mismatched pajamas, but that’s a story for another day.

I’m grateful for this view on the GPS.

I’m grateful he’s telling her what’s what–

— and they are still best friends.

I’m grateful this lighthouse has stood steady as a sentinel in my life for the past decade.  I’m grateful it still brings me to tears when I see it each year.

I’m grateful I finally got a moon shot.

I’m grateful for Thoreau.

I’m grateful for hot tubs.

I’m grateful he wants to take photos with his pretend camera– “first of people, then cats, then boats.”

I’m grateful for THREE.

I’m grateful that even though this world is so big, He has held us in the palm of his hand.

I’m grateful for feeling small once in awhile. And flying kites.

I’m grateful for flamingo bathing suits.  With matching hats.

I’m grateful that I get to be the only woman in his life right now, because OOF, he’s going to be a heartbreaker someday.

I’m grateful he posed for my best friend, even if he refused to do so for me.

I’m grateful for stillness.

I’m grateful I didn’t ruin my white pants.

I’m grateful for gigantic pretzels eaten overlooking the harbor as the ferries chugged back and forth to Ocracoke.

I’m grateful for beauty in all forms, even if it’s 248 spiral steps.

I’m grateful for the perfect striped maxi dress and gold sandals.

I’m grateful for THAT.  Wowza.

I’m grateful that I finished, even with laryngitis and a sore throat.

I’m grateful for 3.1 miles of peace and quiet with my BFF, and that at the end of it all we get to be loved by these guys.

I’m grateful there’s still wonder in this world, and that he has it.

I’m grateful for this ‘one wild and precious life‘.

I’m grateful for this footprint in the sand.

I’m grateful for a side dish of salty air with our dinners.

I’m grateful for this view.

I’m grateful for being able to tuck the sun in each night.

I’m grateful she perseveres, no matter how long the road or how hard the fight.  I’m grateful she teaches me about courage and hope each and every day.

Yes, I’m grateful for that scowl.  Most of the time.

I’m grateful for that HAIR.

Can I get an amen on those curls?

I’m grateful he stood still for a moment.  Barely.

I’m grateful for vintage finds from The Elegant Attic.  I’m grateful for the owner’s southern hospitality, who urged me to take a tour of her amazing home!

I’m grateful for sunshine.

I’m grateful for organized chaos.

I’m grateful for moments where my only job in life is to find the perfect piece of seaglass.

I’m grateful for sand.  Oh so much SAND.

I’m grateful this former tube fed baby not only ate two huge rolls before dinner but relished dunking them in garlic oil.

I’m grateful for peek-a-boo.

I’m grateful for photobombs.

I’m used to be grateful for Brew-Thrus.  I’m not sure I’m grateful for them anymore.  But I’m grateful for being 22 once, and thinking Brew Thrus were amazing at that moment in time.

I’m grateful he’s the one who was tackled.

I’m grateful Route 12 wasn’t underwater.  It’s sometimes underwater, and often under sand.

I’m grateful he cares.

I’m grateful that crab didn’t catch my mojito.

I’m grateful for Gee Gee at Buxton Village Books, who understood what I was asking even with my raging laryngitis, and amazingly had book #6 in the Outlander series in stock to feed my addiction.

I’m grateful he searched until he found me a piece of seaglass.  I’m grateful for his love.

I’m grateful for independent coffee shops like Ugly Mugs.

I’m grateful she can write her name.  The doctors told us she’d never write her name.

I’m grateful he’s the father of my children.  I’m so thankful she gets to call him daddy.

I’m grateful for perfect days.

I’m grateful he can rock a pink flamingo hat when needed.

I’m grateful for daily sunset kayak trips where the only sound I heard was the cry of the birds, the lapping of the water, and the leaping of the fish.

I’m grateful for having two amazing men in my life.  My heart?  It melts.

 

I’m grateful for my best friend’s family, and her beautiful, nurturing children.

I’m grateful someone was here before us, and someone will be here after us, and that we could be here, now.

I’m grateful for that determination, for a woman on a mission!

I’m grateful for daddies who took the kids ghost crab hunting so the mommies could catch up over wine in the hot tub.  Did I mention I’m also grateful for BFFs?

I’m incredibly grateful for the Hatteras Realty employee that mailed his beloved White Kitty back to Pennsylvania after it was left on the top deck of our rental and not discovered missing until 9 hours later as we pulled into our driveway.  I’m grateful she recognized a well loved stuffed animal and didn’t throw it away!

I’m grateful for a great ‘before’ and ‘after’.

I’m grateful this miracle baby shines on.  Oh Lord am I grateful!

I’m grateful we were able to go on vacation in our very favorite place for two weeks.  We may not always be able to do this; change is in the air, and it’s hard.  I’m grateful for this moment in time, and we appreciated every second of it.  I’m grateful we could spend this time together, absorbing inspiration from the world around us and each other.  I’m grateful.

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
― Mary Oliver

What are you grateful for today?