By Kathleen Patrick
I woke up this morning and the radiant sun burst through my window; its light dancing upon the leaves in the tree.
I know that I will never get to experience this day again, so I celebrate it by counting my blessings for all of the little moments that I have been given.
Gratitude for my life, health and my family; My daughter making my favorite crepes for my birthday; my cup of warm, frothy cappuccino; my grandbabies squealing with laughter as they play in the yard; enjoying a walk in my neighborhood with my best friend; stopping to notice the sweet smell of roses in bloom.
They are small things, to be sure, but what is striking is that my appreciation for this day is intensified by the knowledge that many around us, during this pandemic may not be here tomorrow and so we must life in the moment.
We MUST take notice. We MUST savor them, and sit with them for a while and we MUST practice happiness. That feeling of just being.
My life is by no means perfect, but I choose how I wish it to be no matter what my circumstances.
The happiest, and most kindhearted man I ever knew, was my grandfather, George Vivian Plettell, or “Vivian” as my grandmother would shout for her tea across the room. He was blind towards the end of his life and had great difficulty being mobile, but he sat with a huge smile across his face and would say, “child, count your blessings today and every day”.
He could not watch the news or read a newspaper, so he would sit outside on the porch and listen to all of the beautiful sounds the world produced. He didn’t know, and so HIS world was awesome!!!
You can agree or disagree with things you hear, but at least like yourself enough to spend just a few minutes a day treating yourself with kindness, and caring a little about how you feel, because you really truly deserve it!!