I’m so glad you find comfort in the things around you. :-) I am so grateful that, at this moment, I have my health, and I’m going to do one of my favorite things today, which is clean my house. Yes, I do enjoy the vacuuming, dusting, straightening, etc. We’re fairly neat, but when it’s all finished, everything just shines and I love that. It’s exercise, too, and it counts! I get in a kind of zen space as I clean, and gently care for all the things I love. It’s a gray, cold day. Perfect! Gentle hugs to you. <3
You are brilliant in so many ways! I never thought of heating my jam to make everything nice and warm. Also, this essay is a great exercise in gratitude for all the "little" things that make up a life; I've found gratitude to be a powerful tool in accepting the limitations of aging. Sending you healing thoughts.
Hi Judy… I agree with you completely. At almost 77 I am grateful for so much and try not to lose track of all I have. When the pandemic started a dear long time friend ( high school ) and I started sending each other 3 things we were grateful for before going to bed at night. We’re still doing it and the list keeps growing.
Reminds me of my six Hitchcock chairs; a wedding gift. Beautifully stenciled on black, with cherry seats. Our cat completely chewed off the finials on the backs of those gorgeous chairs... !!!!
Once again, I have been comforted...and I'm going to read it again because it's so lovely! Thank you Elizabeth. As many of your readers have said , you are a gift.
I love toast. When I have to do a chore or do something I don't want to do, I just add the words "I am able to". I am able to do the laundry. I am able to clean the bathroom. I am able to toast my own toast. I love your stories so much.
Isn’t it great how sometimes the smallest, silliest things can put a little smile on your face and a little gratitude in your heart!! This morning, mine was the unexpected heart-shaped Cheerios in my bowl!
I’m so grateful I found you, dear Elizabeth! Your books, your words are a treasure to cherish. Thank you for your wisdom and your open heart, you really make a difference in your readers’ life.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for inviting us into your home and your heart. Today, especially, I needed to be reminded of all the ordinary things that we take for granted. I hope your back feels better soon!
I will reread this tomorrow morning with my coffee and toast, maybe an English muffin with lots of butter and some apricot jam. I really can picture you at your table, Lily hiding somewhere and Gabby and Austin looking at you with hopeful eyes, waiting for you to give them a bite or two. The birds you described and the snow and the flowers trying to come up. Your writing is so warm and comforting and I’m already looking forward to my reread in the morning. Thank you.
To me a home is always more comforting if there are some scratches and chew marks. We've had dogs (and a few cats) for over 40 years and they all left their mark in one way or another. I once had a Lab mix who thought he was a rat terrier and was sure there was a rat hiding in the cloth ottoman. Patched it the first time, then slipcovered it multiple times. Finally decided shabby chic was in and just trimmed the frays until he passed a few years back. And if I have at least one book to read, the world goes away for awhile and I'm happy.
I’m so glad you find comfort in the things around you. :-) I am so grateful that, at this moment, I have my health, and I’m going to do one of my favorite things today, which is clean my house. Yes, I do enjoy the vacuuming, dusting, straightening, etc. We’re fairly neat, but when it’s all finished, everything just shines and I love that. It’s exercise, too, and it counts! I get in a kind of zen space as I clean, and gently care for all the things I love. It’s a gray, cold day. Perfect! Gentle hugs to you. <3
You are brilliant in so many ways! I never thought of heating my jam to make everything nice and warm. Also, this essay is a great exercise in gratitude for all the "little" things that make up a life; I've found gratitude to be a powerful tool in accepting the limitations of aging. Sending you healing thoughts.
Hi Judy… I agree with you completely. At almost 77 I am grateful for so much and try not to lose track of all I have. When the pandemic started a dear long time friend ( high school ) and I started sending each other 3 things we were grateful for before going to bed at night. We’re still doing it and the list keeps growing.
I love this idea! I'm 75 and struggling with new health issues. I'm going to try this. Thank you! ♥️
Taking the time and presence to be truly grateful is a precious gift and not often easy, reminds me of the poem below- good for you! You inspire me!
Gratefulness by Dale Biron
Each day the engine of my gratefulness
must be coaxed and primed into action.
Of course like any old clunker,
it would just as soon stay put.
For even after the labored start beats the inertia,
and the plume of white smoke struggles upward,
the same hills always appear,
soaring daily – tall and ominous as before.
There is the long slow hill of “aging”
so gradual and smooth at first.
And then that steep grade called “the news.”
Yes, and always some mountain of a war
looming out there, never too far in the distance.
Even an old idea or a feeling long abandoned
might conspire to halt this fragile progress –
valves sputtering, tires flattening, clutch slipping.
But the old “potato, potato, potato” sound
of the engine, and all its mysterious fuel,
for which I am truly grateful
somehow
keeps stumbling along.
I am ever-grateful for your gentle musings, and your reminders concerning simple joys. What a gift to us all!
Grateful to read your morning moments. Grateful for many of the same things that you are.
When I enter a home with scratched furniture I can only think how much this person loves their pet.
Reminds me of my six Hitchcock chairs; a wedding gift. Beautifully stenciled on black, with cherry seats. Our cat completely chewed off the finials on the backs of those gorgeous chairs... !!!!
I think a theologian cat would claim that in the ontological scheme of things, those finials served their purpose however unexpected it may seem.
Once again, I have been comforted...and I'm going to read it again because it's so lovely! Thank you Elizabeth. As many of your readers have said , you are a gift.
I love toast. When I have to do a chore or do something I don't want to do, I just add the words "I am able to". I am able to do the laundry. I am able to clean the bathroom. I am able to toast my own toast. I love your stories so much.
I just got up and vacuumed my house. I love your way to get motivated!
Loving where we are and feeling peaceful is such a blessing
Isn’t it great how sometimes the smallest, silliest things can put a little smile on your face and a little gratitude in your heart!! This morning, mine was the unexpected heart-shaped Cheerios in my bowl!
I’m so grateful I found you, dear Elizabeth! Your books, your words are a treasure to cherish. Thank you for your wisdom and your open heart, you really make a difference in your readers’ life.
Wow, you made my day! Thank you very much.
Thank you Elizabeth, I truly love your posts and The Pull of the Moon is the book of my heart…
A newspaper and an Alexa at breakfast - congratulations on a new world anachronism record - this is as lovely as always
Thank you, Elizabeth, for inviting us into your home and your heart. Today, especially, I needed to be reminded of all the ordinary things that we take for granted. I hope your back feels better soon!
My dog is called Toast and today is his adoptiversary. So, thank you for publishing a story called Toast today.
Wihat a way to start my day! I wish I could walk over for toast and conversation.❤️
I will reread this tomorrow morning with my coffee and toast, maybe an English muffin with lots of butter and some apricot jam. I really can picture you at your table, Lily hiding somewhere and Gabby and Austin looking at you with hopeful eyes, waiting for you to give them a bite or two. The birds you described and the snow and the flowers trying to come up. Your writing is so warm and comforting and I’m already looking forward to my reread in the morning. Thank you.
Thank YOU.
To me a home is always more comforting if there are some scratches and chew marks. We've had dogs (and a few cats) for over 40 years and they all left their mark in one way or another. I once had a Lab mix who thought he was a rat terrier and was sure there was a rat hiding in the cloth ottoman. Patched it the first time, then slipcovered it multiple times. Finally decided shabby chic was in and just trimmed the frays until he passed a few years back. And if I have at least one book to read, the world goes away for awhile and I'm happy.