A Sprinkle of Gratitude

Today I am grateful that I went to the movies this week. I went to see Last Cab to Darwin. I am so grateful that I went with my friend Victoria – it was a movie about euthanasia and raised all sorts of curly questions in a very Australian way. It was quite unexpected as I hadn’t read anything about the movie. Victoria and I worked together years ago and talk regularly about palliative care so it was quite serendipitous that she and I chose this movie to see together. By the way I loved the movie. 

Today I am grateful that I am still getting flowers and cards. I got a very heartfelt card yesterday from a cycling friend and a beautiful bunch of flowers from a very old friend. It is lovely and such a surprise to still be receiving gifts and cards eleven weeks after my accident. It continues to make me feel very loved and cared for. 

   
 Today I am grateful for my lovely friend Cass George. She looked after me yesterday. I cherish her care and our friendship.

Today I am grateful that my door didn’t fly open when I was coming home from dropping Nick at the bus stop. Nick was running late and so I dropped him at the bus stop. I was in my pjs and when he got out he didn’t close the back door properly . I was in Ashgrove so didn’t want to get out to properly close the door! 

  
Today I am grateful for not having set an alarm for eleven weeks! I think I have been grateful for this before but it is heavenly to put no pressure on myself to be anywhere or do anything by a set time. 

Today I am grateful for the mysterious and unexplainable. There are so many things in my life that I find unexplainable. Why did my accident happen? Why did I live when someone else dies? Why do some people grow old and some people die so young? Why are we here? Why do some people get better with no explaination and others have all the chemotherapy and treatment in the world and don’t get better? Why did I meet David? Is there a god? All these questions are pretty big for a Monday morning. One of my favourite books is My Grandfather’s Blessings by Rachel Remen. She has written a chapter on Mystery. She suggests that Mystery can never be solved, it can never be known, it can only be lived. As she says if we recognize and confront the unknown we recover awe, wonder, joy and aliveness. I think to wonder about life is to have hope and to believe that anything is possible. 

  
Today I am grateful for things to look forward too. We have a house at the beach that I have not been well enough to visit since my accident. We are planning on spending the September holidays there and I am so looking forward to it. I am so looking forward to the second weekend in September when I am going to Sydney with some girlfriends to see Cate Blanchett in a play. Yeh for things to look forward to! 

  
Today I am grateful for cups of tea and buttery toast with Vegemite. It is so ordinary but can be so delicious. 

Today I am grateful l have three beautiful children who are each so individual and special. 

Today I am grateful that when I sneezed it didn’t hurt. 

Today I am grateful that Lucy rated my hug nearly a ten! She said it was nearly back to normal. Lucy has rated my hugs over the last nine weeks and has been very caring and gentle according to how my hugs felt to her. It was lovely tonight to get a rating that recognized I was almost back to normal.

  
Tonight I am grateful for leftovers! We had beautiful Neil Perry Spaghetti Sauce complements of my sister and brother in law Sean and Alex. It was delicious and fed us last night and tonight. Yum!

  
Tonight I am grateful for wonderful friends. I caught up with one of my cycling  friends Liz McCormack today.  Liz had organized a couple of the other girls to come – so it was Liz and Jenny Wood and Meredith. It was a wonderful surprise. We enjoyed good coffee, good company and warm sunshine.

Today I am grateful that my friend David Shelberg has only a mild concussion after a very nasty accident on Sunday. I am grateful he has no broken bones.

Today I am grateful for the wonderful boys who look after my garden. Two years ago I had to sack the gardeners that had worked on our property for over ten years. It was one of the most difficult things I had ever had to do. We considered moving because of the difficulties and tension it was causing. We found a local company called Scapeland. They do a wonderful job and I now spend a lot of time enjoying our garden instead of regarding it as a stressful chore.

Today I am grateful for the Bertie Beetle Bag that my girls brought me home from the Ekka.

  
Today I am grateful that my girls are old enough to go to the Ekka with friends. Lucy went with friends and Sophia went with a friend and her Mum. This meant I DIDN’T have to go! I do love going to the Ekka but this year I would have been very nervous about getting sick and/or getting bumped by the crowds. 

Today I am grateful that the world had Robin Williams. It is a year since he committed suicide. He gave so much to the world through his acting and comedy. I am so sad he is gone but every time I need a real belly laugh I google Robin Williams on You Tube where his comedy lives on. 

  
Today I am grateful that I have one rose on my rose bushes. They were all cut back recently but there is one rose already. 

Today I am grateful that I saw David’s Grandma Audrey this morning. She is 93, lives on her own and is amazing. We talked about all sorts of things – the family, politics, life and marriage to name a few. We both decided we were disappointed that Tony Abbot isn’t as good a prime minister as we were expecting he would be. 

Today I am grateful that I am in love with David.

  
Today I am grateful David and I went to see Anything Goes yesterday and then I managed dinner at the Charming Squire. I am starting to feel almost normal. 

Today I am grateful that the smoke I can smell isn’t a bushfire in our backyard although I cannot work out where it has come from.

Today I am grateful for sleep ins. I have not set an alarm for 9 weeks! I don’t think I have done this for many many years . I still wake up at about 5am but it is wonderful to not have to be up to do anything and allow the time to heal. 

  
Today I am grateful that I managed three walks last week. I am going to aim to walk ten minutes every day this week. 

Today is the day of The Peaks Ride which is the ride I was training for when I had my crash. Today I am grateful for two things. I am grateful I survived that crash . I am grateful that Carolyn Shelberg, Jen Cowle and Mason Cowle who were also training to do the ride have finished The Peaks Ride Gold Coast today. They are all safe and they have all finished in under twelve hours. What an amazing achievement. They have all cycled 235km and climbed 4000m. Congratulations to you all. Love and hugs to you all. 

Today I am grateful that I am not on the Australian Cricket Team!!  
Today I am grateful that I have finished reading a book. I have not had the concentration to read much for eight weeks and I am starting to get back some level of concentration. Anyone who knows me will laugh when I tell you the book I have just finished is called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

Today I am grateful that Lucy gets home from camp today.

Today I am grateful for good coffee.
Today I am grateful that I can come home and have a Nanna Nap.
  

Today I am grateful for my wonderful husband and his kindness.

Today I am grateful for my wonderful children and their kindness.

Today I am grateful for my wonderful family and their kindness.

Today I am grateful for my wonderful friends and their kindness.

Today I am grateful for acquaintances and their kindness.

Today I am grateful for strangers and their kindness.

Today I am grateful for my beautiful friend Michelle Taylor who came and visited me yesterday and did my nails!!

Today I am grateful that the shopping was delivered yesterday and I put it all away with the help of Sophia.

Today I am grateful that I cooked dinner last night. 

Today I am grateful for the seasons.  I can feel spring coming. 

  
Today I am grateful for my Boston Terriers – Thor and Freya. 

Today I am grateful for having breakfast with my friends Deb Aitcheson, Ken Russ and John Kimlin. It was lovely to see them all. 

  
Today I am grateful that when I had my emergency surgery that the surgeons didn’t mess up my tattoo. 

  
Today I am grateful that people are standing up against the terrible treatment Adam Goodes has endured. An example of this is the post on Facebook by Colin Hay.

Today I am grateful for Spotify. I have been able to listen to the latest album this morning by Florence and the Machine without leaving the couch. 

Today I am grateful for gooey bananas that I can make banana bread with. Yum!!