Taking a ride on @jaynie's #GratitudeTrain with my 30 days of grati...

Back about three months ago, @jaynie started a Gratitude train over on Steemit. Here's the gist of the idea from her initial post The #GratitudeTrain #1 -

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

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Step 1.

So starting today, in the comments section of #gratitudetrain post No. 1 – write something that you are grateful for in your life and start it with the number… as in if this is the first time you are sharing on the #gratitudetrain, then write the number “1.” And then state what you are grateful for. (obviously everyone will be number 1 today as this is the first train, but that will change from tomorrow onward…)

Step 2.

Keep a record of your #gratitudetrain expressions shared in the comments somewhere in a word doc or such.

Step 3.

When you reach 30 – then publish a post on your own profile and be sure to use the #gratitudetrain tag or to tag me Hive account@jaynie in the post.

As simple as that!

The idea of this being, that not only will you develop a healthy and positive habit but at the end of 30 days when you share your own post, you will be able to reflect back and realise, just how MUCH GOODNESS there is in your life!

I actually finished my first 30 earlier in the month, but I completely spaced putting this together until today. I figured, what better day to reflect on all I'm thankful for, than on my birthday? 😊

I'm already a few into the new batch, so I'll be back in another month (or three) with more. It was wicked awesome to read through this as I was putting it together - even though it hasn't been all that long, it still brought back some awesomesauce memories. Thanks so much for being such an excellent conductor, Hive account@jaynie!

April 27th, 2018

#1 - For my first #gratitudetrain comment, I have to say I'm grateful that all those months ago, when I was floundering on Steemit, I bumped into @jaynie on a post somewhere (I still hadn't figured out what Discord was). I don't recall the exact exchange, but she invited me to check out the @steemitbloggers channel. From that moment on, I knew I'd found my tribe, and Steemit finally felt like home.

April 27th

#2 - Today I'm grateful that even though all of our kidlets are now adults (the youngest just turned 18 in March), they're all still at home, and I get to enjoy their company for a bit longer before they decide to fly the proverbial coop. They've turned into pretty awesome human beings, and I wicked enjoy their company.

April 28th

#3 - Today I'm grateful that after 31 years together (almost 29 of those married), my husband (@jamesyork) is still by my side, making me laugh through the hard times, and laughing with me during the good times.

April 30th

#4 - For today's #gratitudetrain, I am grateful that while my body is doing bizarre and stupid things, my family is there to pick up my slack - cleaning the house, making meals, shopping, and doing laundry. It's making a difficult situation so much easier to manage.

May 1st

#5 - Today I am grateful that we had plenty of home heating oil yesterday morning when the temps were in the 30sF/3C, and that we have our air conditioners in place for today when the temps were in the 80sF/30C. Ahhh, Spring in New England. 😊

May 5th

#6 - Today, I am grateful to have access to amazing healthcare. Even though I've whined complained about my Primary Care before, I'm lucky to have someone who is actively working to find out what's wrong with me. Better still, she's an APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse), so she comes at things from a less medicine, more health point of view. It's making a frustrating process a bit less so.

May 5th

#7 - Today, I'm grateful that the line of thunderstorms that popped up overnight, with the unexpected "microburst activity" didn't cause any significant damage in our area. While we knew about the storms moving through, we had no idea about the high winds until they hit late evening, and things got a little bit intense there for a moment or two. While a few branches came down in the yard, it's nothing compared to how bad it could've been.

May 7th

#8 - Today I am grateful for the millions of Mayflies that have appeared literally overnight. Their constant buzzing and biting has finally made me appreciate the freezing temps we were experiencing at this time last week! 😊

May 9th

#9 - Today I am grateful that our landlords take such amazing care of our property. While I sit here on my computer, I can hear the sounds of the lawn mower and weed wacker going full tilt. I know in the days and weeks to come, they will be spending a ton of time and energy on the lawn, the flowers, and the veggie garden, while all we have to do is enjoy all three! I mean seriously, we have a running joke about the "veggie fairy" who shows up on our porch regularly during the summer, leaving gifts of green beans, tomatoes, and zucchini (to name a few). They are SO amazing!

May 12th

#10 - Today I am grateful for my mother. I know I've spent a great deal of my life driving her crazy in various ways, but she's always been there for me, and loved me, despite it all.

May 16th

#11 - Today I am grateful that my hubby grilled enough food Saturday night (since he had to work Sunday/Mother's Day) that we're still enjoying the leftovers for suppers. It's a nice, extended vacation from trying to figure out the answer to that daily question, "what's for dinner?"

May 18th

#12 - Today I am grateful for the internet. It's still amazing to me that with a few taps on my keyboard, I can get information and connect with people from all over the world. And even when the answers I find aren't the most cheerful (for example, in regards to what stupid things my body is doing), I still believe the old adage that "knowledge is power."

May 18th

#13 - Today I am grateful that hubby works where he does, because when something happens (like, a big gray bar showing up on the top of our television screen), he has the tools and the resources to suss out that we don't actually need a new TV.

May 18th

#14 - Today I am grateful for the property we live on. We're only a minute or two from "civilization" but you'd never know it once you get to the top of our driveway. We have all kinds of wildlife paying us a visit - for example, this morning (which is what I was thinking of specifically) hubby and I were outside watching a pair of hawks dancing through the trees and sky, doing their yearly mating ritual kind of thing. They were too quick for any decent pictures, but the experience was truly magical!

May 19th

#15 - Today I am grateful for the amazingly helpful, funny, and all around wonderful employees at our local head shop. Hubby & I spent close to an hour hanging out there this afternoon, talking about things that would help this crazy body of mine, and laughing about all manner of things. They didn't even seem to care that Jim and I were ~~definitely~~ probably old enough to be their parents.

May 20th

#16 - Today I'm grateful that the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the insects are... insecting (LOL!) and I got to capture some of it with my camera. 💜 📷

May 22nd

#17 - Today I am grateful for yet another cloudy, grey day with showers in the forecast, thanks to a post yesterday by @themagus. After hearing about the continued drought in his neck of the woods, and realizing we're actually coming up short on rainfall for this month, it's hard to be grumpy about something so essential and life-bringing. Well, to be fair, I'm still grumpy but I'm also grateful... LOL!

May 26th

#18 - Today I am grateful that yesterday hubby & I were able to have an awesome breakfast with a couple of awesomesauce Steemians (@rwedegis & @swedegis). After talking to Roger and Sheila for so many months on this platform, it was wicked cool to be able to converse over coffee & eggs benedict! I'm sooo looking forward to hanging out with them again whilst they're literally down the street from us for the summer!

May 29th

#19 - Today I am grateful that, for the first time in forever, hubby didn't have anything to do yesterday! You see, since all the stupid stuff has been going on with my body, his weekends are usually filled with errands and shopping (even though our eldest does her best to take care of it all too). But on Monday, we lazed on the couch all day, watching TV and just basically relaxing. Can't wait until Steem goes to the moon so he can retire, and every day can be like yesterday... LOL!

June 1st

#20 - Today I am grateful that our boy (20) has now started drinking coffee. No, not because I'm happy that the pot disappears faster (yes, I would do anything for my kids, but touch that last cuppa, and...), but because he's learned how to set up the coffee maker, and regularly makes pots so there's always fresh brew available. ❤️ 👦 ☕

June 6th

#21 - Today I am grateful that our landlady is so quick to take action. Last Thursday we were having some septic issues, so she scheduled a pumping for the 5th. By Friday we went from issues to "OMG the toilet won't flush!!!" Literally five minutes after we called her again, the septic company started backing up (HA - see what I did there?) our driveway. Turns out they happened to be down the street (for which I'm also grateful), and in short order we were crap-free again!

June 13th

#22 - Today I am grateful that hubby is always on the lookout for a good deal. Our rental home is amazing in so many ways, but it has odd shaped windows (tall and skinny) that make finding an affordable air conditioner challenging, to say the least. A few days ago, @jamesyork scored an amazing price on unit that's in excellent shape, so now our kitchen (that we call, "Hell" during the summer) is totally chill!

June 13th

#23 - Today is similar to what I said for #22, only this time I'm grateful that hubby is always on the lookout for me. He noticed I was running low on stuff I'm using to manage my symptoms (CBD oil and Kratom), so when he got home from work, he made a quick run to the store that sells the stuff to make sure I didn't run out, even though it's about 45 minutes round-trip, the stuff ain't cheap, and I protested that he was too tired to go. He's definitely a keeper!

June 17th

#24 - Today I am grateful that we have a roof over our heads, enough food for our bellies, and air conditioners to keep us cool through the upcoming heatwave. Sometimes I forget how big these seemingly small things are.

June 21st

#25 - Today, I am grateful that I can walk. I'll skip the long, boring backstory, but suffice to say I've come to tremendously appreciate the fact that I can stand up, sit down, and make my way across a room under my own power.

June 22nd

#26 - Today, I am grateful that I've been able to connect with doctors who understand what's going on with my body, and who listened to my questions then answered them without making me feel like they wanted to rush out of the room to their next appointment.

June 26th

#27 - Today, I am grateful that last night, my husband ran out of gas in his motorcycle... in our driveway! He's been teaching our boy how to ride by going down the street to a parking lot, and doing loops there. Apparently it's been a while since they actually went to a gas station... LOL! But seriously, what better way to get the reminder than to be home, right next to your car and gas can?

June 29th

#28 - Today, I am grateful for the internet. I'm old enough to remember the time before (and old enough that it's all a bit foggy...LOL) and it's amazing to me that this big wide world seems a bit smaller and cozier these days. It's wicked awesome to have friends and information only a few keyboard clicks away. And I'm reminded of this thanks to the situation today, where fiber optic cables failed/were cut, causing a huge service outage.

July 5th

#29 - Today I am grateful that after 7 days of over 90F (32C) weather, tomorrow will bring thunderstorms and cooler temps. I'm also grateful that we didn't have any power outages, so our A/Cs have been running 24/7, keeping things cool (however I don't think I'll be grateful for the electric bill next month...LOL).

July 5th

#30 – Today I am grateful that I can pick up the phone and call my mother whenever, even if it's just for silly things (like today - long story involving missing mail). We talk all the time through messaging and email, and next week we plan to drop in and have lunch with her after my doctor's appointment, but there's nothing like a twenty minute catch-up conversation with your mom to cure what ails ya.

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