Hump day gratitude
a midweek pause to give thanks for our blessings
I envisioned my gratitude post as a one liner each week. I should have known better.
Here we are in week three of Gratitude hump day. A few updates before I share my thought for this week. I've had two great suggestions for the title, which are similar. But I found another Substacker with the same title, so I'm working on tweaking this a bit. Like most things in life, the title will make its way in time.
Thank you to those who have responded with your "gratitudes." When I see your responses, I feel a bit like a child on Christmas morning opening gifts. There's so much unrest in the world; it is essential to consider our blessings. Keep sending them!Â
And for those who don't wish to comment, no pressure. The majority of folks don't care to respond online. I am uncomfortable with FaceTime as well as Zoom meetings, so I get it. My only wish is that you take those few moments to yourself to think about what you are grateful for.Â
What am I grateful for this week? Thanks for asking.
Support animals, particularly guide dogs!!!!
I can envision heads cocked a little sideways, squinting eyes focused upwards, causing those forehead muscles to bunch;Â did she say guide dogs? That's a bit random.
Welcome to Rick's world! Aww, but there's always a story, and in the end, it all makes sense.Â
While at Crate & Barrel this week, I glanced down at the next counter-- one of those moments that captures your attention to the point of stopping you in your tracks. I saw a guide dog standing next to its owner who was paying for a purchase. The dog was so still, head bent slightly downward in anticipation of its owner's needs, waiting. That dog likely would stand there for hours if needed, waiting. I took a mental snapshot hoping to freeze my view, to remind me:Â
Animals have the power to calm and nurture us, lead and protect us, amuse and tickle us. I can't imagine life without them. And I'm particularly grateful for those animals who can guide the blind, protect the sick, rescue those in danger and bring home the bodies of loved ones otherwise lost to their families. Remarkable creatures.Â
Hopefully, we reward our animals with even a fraction of what they give us.
My kitty, one of two siblings, who is never far away when I’m writing.
Oh, so lovely, Sue. Many years ago, I lived in an old carriage house on Long Island Sound. One night a heavy snowfall, unbeknownst to me, had blocked the vent to the furnace. I was finishing a project in my basement office, where the furnace also lives, and I had another hour or two of work to meet my deadline. Yet I was falling asleep - at the typewriter! My cat, Rudy, kept hopping up on my desk and poking me. G'wan, I said, I have to do this. Finally he lay down in the middle of the floor and - he wasn't asleep - he passed out. He was unconscious, limp, when I went over to him. The carbon monoxide was killing both of us - him, little guy, first. He'd tried so hard to warn me. I rushed him outside in my arms, and after a bit, he began to recover. And he lived through his experience. The secret, though, is: he always had a way out of that basement. I had put a little cat door in one of the small windows. He stayed, I think I'm safe in assuming, for me.
This morning, even as I'm grumbling about my paying job which I don't really "love", I am grateful for it. I'm listening to friends who have lost their jobs recently and unexpectedly and feeling deep gratitude for mine, imperfect as it may be.