Sept. 5, 2014 – Camping at Little Punchbowl Lake with my not-yet daughter in law, Heather

While cleaning my office today I found a three month list of gratitudes written by various members of the household in 2014. What a blessing during this uncertain time to know that some things (large and small) always have been and will be held dearly.

Here were some of the notations:

July 22 – awesome summer storms, World Cup soccer
July 23 – fresh basil
July 24 – Reid being born, bug repellent
July 25 – The smell of tomato plants, the way my hair feels after being in the ocean
July 26 – lazy mornings
July 27 – bacon, of course
July 28 – hard rain
July 29 – homemade salsa
July 30 – honest conversations
July 31 – snickerdoodles

Aug. 1 – hummingbirds
Aug. 2 – leftover Willie ribs, homemade music
Aug. 3 – new shoes
Aug. 4 – our firefighters, people who think before they speak, Mia Hamm
Aug. 5 – Rory McKilroy, sunrises
Aug. 6 – people who are kind
Aug. 7 – naps
Aug. 8 – the ability to laugh
Aug. 9 – cold melon, tired muscles
Aug. 10 – Harry Potter
Aug. 11 – Robin William’s life
Aug. 12 – Ginny’s amazing cooking, Star Wars
Aug. 13 – Waking up to thunder
Aug. 14 – Robynn and Michael, 12 foot tall sunflowers
Aug. 15 – Good doctor reports
Aug. 16 – the glory of nature
Aug. 17 – Maylee’s steadfast love
Aug. 18 – the meditation of housework
Aug. 19 – anyone with a sense of humor
Aug. 20 – Virginia Jean – my anchor
Aug. 21 – tasting nice wine
Aug. 22 – Long talks with Gracie
Aug. 23 – Pickles
Aug. 24 – teamwork in the garden, doing nothing at all
Aug. 25 – hot showers
Aug. 26 – people who ease in slowly, people who go whole hog
Aug. 27 – teachers who are excited to teach
Aug. 28 – my colon
Aug. 29 – Doug Irvine’s big heart
Aug. 30 – fresh paint
Aug. 31 – Heather being my running rock

Sept. 1 – waking up to the smell of breakfast, Gracie’s long legs, llamas
Sept. 2 – Beginnings
Sept. 3 – home
Sept. 4 – Remembering Kay Atwood
Sept. 5 – beautiful lakes
Sept. 6 – cowboy coffee, Dairy Queen half and half cones
Sept. 7 – finding something that was lost
Sept. 8 – honest conversations
Sept.9 – martini decadence
Sept. 10 – me time
Sept. 11 – the ability to remember
Sept. 12 – not smoking
Sept. 13 – peaches
Sept. 14 – my adorable boyfriend, AJ
Sept. 15 – chameleons
Sept. 16 – potatoes
Sept. 17 – back bones
Sept. 18 – Scotland and the spirit of the YES campaign
Sept. 19 – Ginny’s face when she’s excited
Sept. 20 – a day off of work
Sept. 21 – the amazing mountains we live so near to
Sept. 22 – friends
Sept. 23 – for knowing that, even in an argument -Gracie and I love each other
Sept. 24 – packages that come in the mail