Gratitude - Week 40

April 2, 2017

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melody Beattie

Gratitude: Week 40 (March 26th - April 1st)

As we cleared out another room for renovations I dusted off some old scrapbooks and took a seat getting lost in a sea of memories. Memories of the kids birthdays, family vacations, and ordinary happiness gathered neatly on the pages embellished with glitter and glue.

Reminiscing often instigates a surge of pain with the reminder of what was shifting to the layers of buried grief. Beneath a cloud of memories are the photos of Ryan and all the before's of life provoking the moments of happiness into a longing for what was.

Fragile pieces of life displayed to last forever immerse me in melancholy, time with its finite currency unraveling through the stories of my life with seasons that slipped from my grasp, had I taken them for granted?

Messy ice cream covered chins, a school day enjoyed in the park during a rare winter thaw and the laughter that comes from celebrating our days together. This collection of love softens any suffering and slowly emits a flicker of grace into the space of serenity that can only be discovered in moments and memories.

Yes the memories are bittersweet, but within the light they brought me, I will forever hold them with gratitude.

From the list...

Week 40: Greatest Accomplishment

Wow, that is a tough one. My children would be one of my greatest accomplishments, but if I was looking at something I worked towards completing it would have to be the Chicago Marathon. A difficult challenge that provoked my love of running in countless ways.

If you are just starting to follow #52weeksofgratitude you can start HERE #gratitudechangeseverything

Week 1	Week 12	Week 23	Week 34	Week 45
Week 2	Week 13	Week 24	Week 35	Week 46
Week 3	Week 14	Week 25	Week 36	Week 47
Week 4	Week 15	Week 26	Week 37	Week 48
Week 5	Week 16	Week 27	Week 38	Week 49
Week 6	Week 17	Week 28	Week 39	Week 50
Week 7	Week 18	Week 29	Week 40	Week 51
Week 8	Week 19	Week 30	Week 41	Week 52
Week 9	Week 20	Week 31	Week 42
Week 10	Week 21	Week 32	Week 43
Week 11	Week 22	Week 33	Week 44