gratitude altar

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! The kids and I had dinner with family and then had some petsitting stops to make (petsitters are busy on holidays. :-) on the way home. And then we started a new tradition. We sat down and had hot chocolate with marshmallows, and made gratitude lists. There has been a lot of anxiety in the house of late, and a great sense of loss, and a friend suggested that to clear out that energy we make a gratitude altar to honor those things that are in our lives.

I won't make the kids' lists public, but I will share with you a little of mine. I am infinitely grateful for my beloved children. I am grateful for my family - all of them. Even the ones no longer with us; I'm so grateful that I had the time with them that I did. I'm so grateful for my wonderful, supportive friends. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work, and to attend a graduate program (at least for now). I am grateful for the roof over our heads; for this warm and cozy place we call home.

And I am grateful for lessons learned over the past year. Even, -- or perhaps most importantly --the most painful lessons; as these are the ones that most helped me to clarify what is most important to me, and what i want in my life.