48 Things I Am Grateful For

I was first inspired to write this because I read a similar list by another blogger. The partial list sat in the drafts section of this blog for a while. Then, two weeks ago, I fell on my way to Ocean Beach Pier and crushed my right hand. To add insult to injury my camera stopped working. In spite of the throbbing pain and the realization that I might not be able to shoot for some time I was able to see the situation in gratitude. I'm not saying that I didn't do my share of worrying, whining and crying, but I was also able to focus on the fact that things were not as bad as they could have been and that I still had plenty to be grateful for. So I decided to finish this post and ended up with a list of 48 things I am grateful for. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. The love and generosity of my friends
2. My courage
3. The guy that helped me when I fell. I'll never forget him
4. The relationship I had with my mom. I miss her so much but I'm glad we had so much time together
5. My sweet Fuzz, who taught me so much and often comes to me in my dreams
6. Vanilla ice cream
7. The sound of Bear sleeping in my office. It reminds me that he's there for me
8. Coffee. Because coffee
9. Working in sweatpants and not having to buy any "business casual" clothes
10. My computer and all that it allows me to do
11. The internet because thanks to it I feel like I'm not alone
12. Walks in the sunshine
13. San Diego sunshine which is present about 95% of the year
14. The ability to cook
15. Gray hair and wrinkles which remind me of how far I've come
16. The smell of fresh-cut grass that takes me back to being a kid in Pennsylvania
17. Cuddling with Bear
18. Butterflies and hummingbirds which show up at the most random yet perfect times
19. Roses, daisies and every other flower
20. Living in California
21. The smell of lavender
22. Drawing pens and the fascination I have discovered for Zentangle
23. Music
24. That I discovered my love for photography
25. The peace I get from the ocean
26. My dad's sense of humor
27. My journals. They have gotten me through a lot of the rough times
28. The love of learning
29. A flexible work schedule that lets me be the one who decides how I spend my time
30. Books. Because books
31. The written word and my passion for writing
32. Those times when Bear is silly and he makes me laugh. The look of pride in his face is priceless
33. The bad experiences which have been valuable lessons
34. The good experiences which I will always treasure
35. Clean laundry - in spite of the laundromat
36. The symphony of birds in the mornings
37. Misty overcast mornings
38. Clear blue skies
39. My super-comfortable bed
40. The people that have come into my life - some have stayed and some have gone but all have taught me something
41. The colors of the ocean on a clear day: aqua, teal, blue, green
42. TV shows that make me laugh
43. Worn out doors because they're cool to photograph
44. Piers - because they let you walk out into the ocean
45. Sunsets by the ocean
46. Tears and laughter - both are good for the soul
47. Being outside
48. Afternoon walks with Bear in the cool breeze

I'm sure I could come up with more and once I hit publish I'll probably think of others. The point of this was not to come up with some awesome number but rather to pay attention to all the wonderful things I can be thankful for.

PS - You can find more of my butterfly photographs for sale here!