Welcome to day 2 of practicing gratitude ... 

Thanks for joining me along my gratitude journey.  It always feels 
more productive for me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys in 
this case).  There's obviously a reason counsellors will suggest 
journalling, it just feels good to get it out there!  I've been 
practicing mental gratitude for a long while now, but, I've never 
really put the things I'm truly grateful for in my life on paper.

I’m onto item #2 – my list won’t be listed in order of importance  – just as they come to me and what inspires me to write each day.

ITEM #2 IS MA FAMILLE (aka family)

FAMILY, your biggest fans and your most honest critics aren’t they?

My Parents: The only beings who could possibly love you more than to infinity and beyond. Not all parents are great, I’ll give you that, but at the bare minimum they did choose to let you live and gave you life. Some didn’t even get to be born 😦  I’m most grateful to my parents for their support and undying love. It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes it was a pure struggle – but that life gave me the strength to be solid human I am today.  Be grateful for the opportunity if you still have it – losing my dad was the hardest thing I’ve had to go through in life to date.  What I’d do for one last phone call.

My Brother: Your siblings are the best thing that could ever happen to you, with my brother some days I doubt that, and although I struggle to stand for my brother at times, I love him unconditionally.   No matter how much we bicker and argue, at the end of the day he’s always there for me and when push comes to shove he’s always on my  side.

My Children: The ones who test you to the brink of insanity, then give you the biggest hug (or do the dishes lol) and it all just melts away.  My kids are my life.  My reasons for being.  The reasons that I woke up on days where I felt giving up.  They’re my prides, my joys, the loves of my life.  They’re everything I did right in this world (happy crying right now).  They’re the purest reflection of me, and I adore them to infinity and beyond.

My foster child, Maria in Zambia and the ones I had beforehand – my heart swells each time I receive a letter from her, on how she’s doing, and the lovely pictures I receive drawn by some little girl on the other side of the world who loves me because I donate less than a cup of coffee per day and write her letters …

My friends, the family you choose ….. the crazy nights out, the embarrassing memories, the late night phone calls, the laughs, the cries and the fact that they’ve got your back. Always grateful for those priceless relationships.  To the ones whom super I’m connected with, to the ones I don’t get to see as ofter as I’d like to, the ones I’ve lost touch with and the ones yet to come into my life.  I’m grate for them all and all of the experiences – they’ve shaped me into the person that I am today.  I’m a pretty big loner, but, I’ve got to say I have a pretty solid base surrounding me.

LIFE IS GOOD, and BETTER SURROUNDED BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

This song has touched my heart and I am in tears. If you read this – I send you love. No matter what you are going through – I got love for you. If life is good for you then I rejoice with you and if it’s not going so well I am with you there but also letting you know that it will get better ~ Finding Swamy