Thank you notes: little bits of gratitude from January 2024
It’s easy to get so caught up in the hustle of life that we forget to appreciate the small miracles that happen every day. I created the monthly Thank You Notes post to help me relive the happy moments, savor the gratitude, and share them with you. I hope they also inspire you to think about what you have to be grateful for and share them with us.
I will not be repeating the photos I shared last week on my January goal update, but rest assured, I am deeply grateful for those things too…especially my 25 years of marriage with my wonderful husband.
Thank you Southern Utah winters…
…for being mild enough to allow for comfortable walks outdoors with the aforementioned husband. Thank you for the clear blue (inversion-free) skies. And, of course, a shoutout to Mother Nature for the beautiful cloud art and desert plants. Thank you to the people that maintain this trail. And thank you to my strong, healthy body for allowing me to get out and about.
And lest you think it’s all sunshine and warmth here…
…proof that we did get measurable snow this year. It even stuck around (in the shady spots) for a couple of days. Still, no shoveling was required, so for that I am grateful.
Thank you vegetables…
…for coming together to form this most delicious nutritious soup. Thank you sun, rain, and soil…as well as farmers, truckers, and grocery store workers…for making these vegetables readily available to me. Thank you taste buds and digestive system for allowing me to enjoy the final result.
Thank you David M. Bird…
…for these delightful Becorns and the prints that are now hanging in my house. (I highly recommend you visit his website or Instagram to see the fascinating Becorn creation videos.) Thank you eyes for allowing me to enjoy artwork. These canvases bring a smile to my face several times a day.
Thank you Buddy Dog…
…for all the love and for the snuggles every time I sit on the couch…even if I do get a little squished on occasion…and it can make it difficult to read or drink coffee. Still, it melts my heart every time. Thank you for joining our family three years ago and enriching our lives every day since then.
Thank you grandchildren…
…for spending part of your day off from school with me. Thank you for the laughs, the hugs, the lessons learned, the inspiration, and so much more. (Can you guess which one doesn’t love their photo being taken? Thank you Wren for indulging Grandma.)
Your turn
- What are you grateful for in this moment?
- Snow: do you love it or hate it? Does it snow where you live?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love hearing from you.
So much to be grateful for Christie and your gratitude thoughts are always lovely to read. Great photos too! At the moment I’m grateful for the warm/hot sunshine of summer, the ability to ride my bike into town for supplies, my friends and for celebrating another wedding anniversary this month (no.44) and my husband’s birthday yesterday. My sunflowers also bring me joy as they look for the light and are positive beacons of sunshine!
You do have so much to celebrate, Debbie. Congratulations on 44 years of marriage, and happy birthday to your husband! I love sunflowers too. You can’t help but smile when you see them. Enjoy the sunshine!
Well my January was a slog. My gratitude focuses on surviving it and moving on to February which may be as lousy but at least it’s a different month so snarl about.
I’m sorry to hear that, Ally. Surviving and moving on are definitely things to be thankful for. Here’s hoping your February is better than January!
Hi Christie, what a lovely list of things to be grateful for and such nice photo’s to go along with them! I’m grateful for my home, for good food, for family and friends. Thanks so much for linking up with #WWWhimsy again this week. I hope you have a wonderful week! xo
Thank you, Min. You do indeed have much to be grateful for. I will add to my list the opportunity to link up with fellow bloggers at #WWWhimsy. Thank you for providing that opportunity!
Hi Christie – so great that you got to spend some time with the grandkids and that they still enjoy spending time with you (I’m sure it gets trickier as they get older). I could relate to your blue sky winters – no snow where we are at all – just some rain. And I really loved those Becorns of yours and nature interacting with them – just so sweet.
Yes Leanne, it does get a little trickier finding time to spend with grandchildren as they get older and have more responsibilities and activities to participate in, but I am happy that we built such strong relationships when they were younger that they still seem to enjoy our time together. Snow can be magical, really beautiful when it’s fresh and new…but tricky to navigate and not so lovely when it gets old and dirty. I hope you are enjoying your summer. Happy February!
What a lovely way to start the year, Christie. I always enjoy your thank you notes because it gives me pause to think about what I’m grateful for. January was a great month especially with my health as I got back on tracking moving my body everyday. I’m grateful my husband and I are fit enough to have done our own demolition on the bathroom renovations. Grateful that my grandson who started a new school has navigated catching the bus to and from school. So many little things that add up to a rich life. Have a wonderful February. x
I am happy to hear that your health is back on track, Sue. I am impressed that you and your husband did your own demolition. I’ve never done anything like that. And congratulations to your grandson navigating the bus system and adjusting to a new school. He is growing up, isn’t he?
I’ve never renovated before doing the work myself Christie but it made me feel so alive. It is great for Mike as he enjoys these types of projects. Ethan is certainly growing up and it is wonderful to see how he has settled into his new school. x
I can imagine that would be energizing, Sue, both the physical labor and the satisfaction of accomplishing something so tangible. I look forward to seeing the final outcome.
I always say it’s the small things that have most impact on our lives Christie. I enjoyed readin about what you’re grateful for just now. Your veg soup looks amazing. We are sweltering in high temps, being middle of summer, so soup is rarely on our menu. At the moment I’m grateful to be healthy at 70
So true, Jen. It’s hard for me to imagine sweltering high temps right now, while we are in the depths of winter, but I know how that feels, so I’m enjoying my soup while I can. Being a healthy 70 is definitely something for which to be grateful. Here’s to health and happiness in February!
one year I blogged every day in January and found something each day to post about.
I am so thankful for .my health (which is always a work in progress), mu husband and especially my lovely grandkids. Also for a plethora of friends that grace my life.
Wow, I’m impressed that you blogged every day for a month, Bernie. Quite an accomplishment. Health and loved ones are high on my gratitude list as well. Enjoy them all!
I’ve done it several times. I do a Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar and a couple of years I blogged daily. I blog daily when I travel (if I have wifi) and when we did our medical mission in Haiti I did daily posts which gave everyone at home insight into what we were doing. Then sometimes I don’t post a thing for 2 weeks!
That’s so impressive to me, Bernie. Even retired, blogging once a week is about all I can keep up with. I missed your Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar, but hopefully you’ll do it again in 2024. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Hi Christie. Counting our blessings and being grateful is such a wonderful way to start the year. My husband and I have started writing what we’re grateful for each day, before we turn in for the night. I plan on putting each of our dated notes in a jar, so we can read them at the end of the year. Love this post! Thank you for sharing.
That’s a wonderful idea, Christina. I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for a while now, and one year my husband and I kept a Joy Jar where we periodically put slips of paper with good things that happened throughout the year and then read them on New Year’s Eve, but I like the idea of combining the two and putting daily notes in a jar. That tracks more of the small joys that happen and not just those we deem noteworthy. Thanks for the inspiration!
I am grateful for the improved sight in my right eye, and I look forward to having the left eye join it in due course.
January has been relatively ordinary until the last couple of days when I’ve had some breakthroughs with my lovely coach. I am grateful for her encouraging me to step fully into doing what I love, rather than trying to shoehorn myself into a niche. I wish I’d had the courage to do so before, but I am grateful for the opportunity to give it my best now.
So, thank you January – you have served me well 🙂
Congratulations on your breakthroughs during January, Debs. I can relate to wishing at times that I’d learned something sooner, but the lessons come when we are ready to accept and act on them. Good luck with your expanded endeavors! Also, I’m glad to hear that your right eye is doing well. Wishing you good results on your left eye when the time comes!
So many fabulous things to be thankful for! It snows quite a bit where I live and while I love how pretty it looks I really do hate having to go outside and deal with it all.
I feel exactly as you do about snow, Joanne!
What a lovely cheery post – your winter doesn’t look that chilly even though there’s snow!! I guess it’s the blue skies that are tricking me. #WWWHimsy
It was a little cold, Lydia, but still much warmer than we are used to when we’ve spent winters in Northern Utah. They have been dealing with feet of snow and days of freezing temps. I’ll take our skiff of snow and beautiful blue skies any day.
Hi Christie, I am grateful for all the calls and sympathy cards from friends who reminded us how much Malcolm’s mom was loved, for a few cool, sunny days to enjoy being outside, and for this month coming to an end.
Congratulations on 25 years together. You guys look very comfortable with each other.
Those are all lovely things to be grateful for, Suzanne, especially the support of friends during a difficult time. And thank you for the anniversary wishes. Looking comfortable with your spouse (which we are) is a compliment indeed.
I look forward to your Thank You Notes Christie!
Thanks for this one too.
Love the grandma’s indulgence photo comment. We had a lovely day with 3 of our granddaughter’s yesterday before school went back today. Precious moments indeed.
Just about everywhere I read MOST of the world is glad January is over. 1 Feb here now and still warm to hot!
Take care,
Denyse
Thank you for those kind words, Denyse. Time spent with our grandchildren is precious indeed. Here’s to a fabulous February…a little cooler for you and a bit warmer for me!
Oh yes I just love the Becorns! They are so very cute. We could do with some snow here (hehehe). We are having such a hot humid summer! Can’t wait till autumn hits.
sherry
##WWWhimsy
Aren’t those Becorns so cute, Sherry? I’d be happy to send you some of our cold weather in exchange for some of your warmth!
Christie – I adore how you expand on the gratitude… not just the walk, but the trail maintenance. Not just the yummy bowl of soup, but everything that went into it, starting with the farmers. For me, every morning as I journal I think about my gratitude for my space, my husband, my family & friends, my health, my financial security. I also try and note three things specifically about the day before that I’m grateful for. Yesterday on thing was sharing an evening with good friends – dinner at a Jazz club where our friend got to jam a bit with the band (open night). Nope, not a single picture! But lovely memories.
Thanks, Pat. When I am feeling appreciation for something, I like to think about all the things and people that made it possible. I have a similar gratitude practice to yours. In the morning, as part of my meditation practice, I think about what I am grateful for in general, and then in the evening, I list three good things that happened that day.
The jazz club with friends sound like great fun, and while pictures are nice, lovely memories are even better. Enjoy them!
Christie,
You have much to be thankful for … as do I! The pictures were wonderful, especially those of your grandchildren. Apparently, you and I both have dogs named Buddy. Did you name yours or did he come with that moniker? Our Bud came as a rescue with name attached. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his name, but I sing to him with all apologies to The Beatles, “All you need is Bud. Bud, Bud, Bud…Bud is all you need!” Because sometimes Bud and Love are one and the same. So, I’d say his name fits him perfectly. Peace and hugs to you as we head into February 2024! Mona
Yes, Mona, it appears we both have dogs named Buddy. Ours also came with the name when we rescued him. We had some hesitation, because we also have a son-in-law that goes by Buddy. It has led to some funny moments, such as when I told one of my daughters I had a call with Buddy’s foster mom. She was so confused thinking the person Buddy had a foster mom she didn’t know about! Or a few times when both Buddys were in the same room, and I’ve said something like, “That’s enough Buddy.”