Vicarious Living, Eggs and Showers

I'm so grateful to be living in a time when I can enjoy some things vicariously, through other people's eyes. With the Internet, I can go anywhere in the world and see sights and wonders that I could never have gotten to on my own, either because of financial constraints or plain old fear. But I do enjoy seeing what other people are up to! Thank You Lord that there are people out there willing to go where most of us can't go, and who are kind enough to bring back pictures so I can see what I'm missing. :))

I'm also grateful for eggs. I eat an egg every morning. It stems way back to the early 80's when I had trouble eating and was apparently, according to my doctor (though I didn't feel it) close to dying of malnutrition. My doctor sent me to a nutritionist and we agreed that I should have an egg every morning. The first few mornings I couldn't keep it down, but eventually it became my breakfast...for many years, it was the ONLY thing I could keep down first thing in the morning. Now I'm on the other end of the spectrum, and need to lose weight, lol. But even after all these years, that egg (scrambled and well cooked) is still often the only thing I can manage to eat first thing in the morning. So thank You Lord for eggs!

And I'm very grateful for showers. Remember the old days when the only option (at least in our house when we were young) was a bath? It was a lot of work, because the water pressure was slow and the water heaters were small. So we didn't get a bath everyday, nor did we need to, even though we played in the dirt a lot back then. Now I enjoy a bath - for about the first 10 minutes, then I can't stand it and have to stand up and get a shower anyway! So I'm very grateful that showers are so much easier and faster these days! Thank You Lord for hot water, nice-smelling soaps and the wonderful feeling of that water splashing all over me!!

Orange, Comics and a Husband Who Does the Chores

Today I'm grateful for the colour orange. I love to wear orange, it makes me feel good. I have capris and shorts in various shades of orange and quite a few t-shirts, hoodies and a sweater in different shades of orange (my philosophy is that I have to buy orange clothes while they're available because when the stores stop selling orange, it will be gone for a long time!)

I can get away with wearing the tops anytime of the year, but I normally can only wear the orange capris and shorts in spring and summer. So I wear orange a lot. Probably too much for some people's tastes, lol. But I especially love wearing orange on a dull rainy day because it just perks me right up and makes me feel like I'm carrying the sunshine around with me. Thank You Lord for the colour orange!

I'm also grateful for comic strips. It was strange how just after Gary died I couldn't stand to read them...nothing could make me laugh and I didn't want to be reminded of how profoundly sad I was. I embraced it as a sign of healing-in-progress when I finally began reading comics again. Now they're one of my favourite parts of the day. Thank You Lord for the people who work every day to bring laughter into our lives through the newspaper comic strips!

And I'm grateful that my husband likes to do the laundry. I don't mind doing it at all, but he seems to actually really enjoy it. And washing dishes too! He even irons the tea towels!! I've never in my life ironed tea towels, but when I was single and working, I barely had time to iron my blouses, so things like pillow cases and tea towels never made it to my ironing table. He's a real gem that way. He enjoys doing a lot of things around the house that I don't particularly enjoy doing. He does laundry, washes the dishes, cooks, cleans the bathrooms and too many other chores to list here. He took over when he moved in with me, because I was working full-time (and lots of overtime) and he wanted me to be able to relax and spend time with him when I got home. Now that I'm retired, I could (and sometimes want to) take over some of those chores, but he prefers to do it all now. I'm so lucky!!! Thank You Lord for sending this man into my life!!

Walks in the Sunshine, People and Fried Onions

Today I'm grateful for the beautiful day I spent with my husband. We were supposed to do more vacuuming in our neighbour's house, but after several days of rain, the sunshine was too tempting. So we drove downtown and spent all morning walking along the canal, past the Parliament Buildings, along the locks and finally ended up at one of our favourite restaurants for a buffet lunch. Thank You Lord for the glorious sunshine, the freedom of time and the beauty of nature all around us today. It was a really nice day!

I'm grateful for the people God has continuously brought into my life...to inspire, mentor, teach, companion - and to remind me of the things that I need to remember about life, love, compassion and kindness. Thank You Lord for each and every person...You know how much I cherish each person's presence and gift in my life...You know how painful it has been lately to have to accept the reality that not everyone can stay. Continue to teach me to be open to their arrivals in my life, and understanding of their leaving when it's time for them - or me - to move on. I would rather hold on to every single one of them and continue to treasure their presence, but that's not how it works, is it. I'm so grateful that they have been a part of my life at all, how much richer I am because of each person's presence and companionship along the way.

And I'm grateful for fried onions. Yummmmmmmmmmyyyyyyy. I'm not sure what it means that I can't get enough of them. :))

Health Care, Electricity and Unfathomable Love

Today I'm grateful for access to good health care. It might not be perfect, but it's so much better than what most people across the world have...I just have to drive a few blocks to see my doctor, friends of ours in Cuba have to travel anywhere up to several hours by hot crowded buses. Health care for my little Born in Kenya or Khith in Cambodia is 2 hours away. And if I need any medicine, I just pop in to my nearest pharmacy with the doctor's prescription in hand and get it, and it will probably be free. Not so in many other places. Cuba might have some of the best doctors, well-trained and all, but they don't have access to some of even the most basic medicines. And even if the medicine is available, most Cubans cannot afford to pay for it. I do thank You Lord for the wealth of medical resources available to me and my loved ones here in Canada...but my heart cannot rejoice so freely knowing that so many of my loved ones elsewhere are in need, so I ask You to bless each one with whatever they need to be healthy and happy. Open the eyes, hearts and wallets of all those who are in positions of power and ability to make whatever changes necessary to make it possible for all to access good health care in whatever corner of the world they live in.

I'm also grateful for electricity, the power to bring light into my own home at the flick of a switch, to store food safely in a refrigerator, and to cook entire meals in a good-working oven. Everytime I stand at the stove to cook anything, I'm mindful of my friends who have to stand outside and cook on a tiny two-burner propane camp stove. I'm awed that they are able to cook all of their meals for their entire families (8-10 people), often with no electricity and in most cases, no oven. Thank You Lord for electricity. Thank You for the wealth of resources available to me here in Canada...again, I ask You to bless our loved ones in other parts of the world who struggle against unreliable (or no) electricity, inclement weather and hordes of mosquitoes just to put together a simple meal for their families. I don't know what exactly to ask...it seems monumental and complex...but You know the needs and the obstacles, so I just pray that You do whatever it takes to provide all with whatever they need to provide sustenance to their families.

And I'm grateful for my husband. He might not be perfect, but he loves me, and I often cannot fathom why he loves me, but he does and that makes all the difference in the world.

Vacuum Cleaners, Colours and Socks

Right now at this moment I'm very grateful for vacuum cleaners. I just spent 90 minutes in the basement of someone else's house vacuuming cobwebs from the walls and ceiling. I had to hold the nozzle part over my head for over an hour, poking around pipes and cables and various other obstacles...it was rather grueling and tiring and not the most enjoyable task in the world. But we were helping 90-year-old friends, and so I was grateful on several fronts - for the energy to be able to help at all, for the time and availability that retirement allows us to be able to help, and for my super-dooper vacuum cleaner which just sucked those million+ cobwebs with not much effort on my part. Dear Lord, I wonder if sometimes You would love to take a vacuum cleaner and suck all the cobwebs and dust right out of the nooks and crannies of me...I know I sometimes wish You would do that and just be done with it. But I'm glad that You do what You know is best, which often seems to be the slow patient waiting way...because I guess there are lessons I need to learn from the journey itself that couldn't be learned through the vacuum cleaner approach. It makes me sigh with relief that You're okay with the slow journeying, because slow is my best pace most days. But I'm ever so glad to have had that vacuum cleaner to do the job quick and easy this morning!

I'm also grateful today for colours. After spending quite a bit of time in that dark and dusty basement over the past few days, it's such a joy to come out the front door and be surrounded by such brilliant colours - blue sky, green grass, red roses, pink columbines, orange dahlias, yellow begonias and purple clematis. I love Spring. I especially love all of those rich colours springing up from the brown earth. Thank You Lord for colours. Thank You for providing us with a wee patch of land to grow all those amazing colours into being. De Colores!

I'm also grateful today for socks. Some people don't have socks. It had never occurred to me before we started traveling that some people don't have socks. When the floor upstairs gets cold, or even when my feet are in pain, socks always make me feel better. Now when we travel to those sockless parts of the world, we bring extras to leave behind...they're always a much-welcome relief for those cold feet too! Thank You Lord for socks!

Neighbours, Cyberfriends and Tea

Today I'm grateful for our next-door neighbour who often sends over yummy food for us. She makes yummy stuff! Today she sent over some BBQ pork kabobs, so tender and glazed with an exotic sauce, and then just a few minutes ago sent over a plate of home-made custard cake (not sure what it is, but it's delicious). Thank You Lord for Erlita!

I'm also grateful for cyberspace. For all the wonderful resources available...and especially the awesome people I've met through various forums and online venues. I cherish the friendships, and am grateful for how the wisdom of these beloved women has graced and evolved me into someone I like so much better than ever before. Thank You Lord for leading me into this whole new world of cyber-connectedness! Although there is a terrible dark side to cyberspace (please keep us all safe), there is also the possibility of kindredness and caring connection where we can bring light, healing and hope to others. I know, because I've been enlightened, healed and enkindled here myself...thank You! And help me, Lord, to pay it all forward!

 I'm also grateful for tea. Earl Grey, hot. Thank You Lord, and please bless all of the tea-pluckers everywhere in the world today.

Escalators, Mall Workers and Cyberspace

Today I hurt my knee climbing up the escalator stairs at the mall...both the escalator and elevator weren't working, so I had no choice. By the time I got to the top of the escalator, I could barely walk. So today I'm grateful for escalators and elevators that work...and a special thank You, Lord, because I'm very grateful that hubby came along just as I got off the broken escalator and was able to help me to the car.

I'm also grateful for all the people who work in the mall...sales clerks, cashiers, sandwich makers, shoe fitters, shelf stockers, floor sweepers, coffee makers, tea steepers, lightbulb changers, security guards, sweater folders...they all do jobs that I cannot imagine doing for 8+hours a day every day. I'm glad they're there instead of me. Thank You Lord for all the people who help in any way...please bless each and every one according Your will for each one.

And I'm very grateful for my laptop, for the joy of being able to sit in my comfy chair in my comfy pajamas (when I came home, I changed into my pj's so that I won't have to change again later, because it hurts my knee to change clothes) and open my laptop and find all sorts of wonderful games, messages, and beautiful people all over the world. Thank you Lord for this amazing "window on the world"...thank you for the joy I find here in cyberspace, and please use me to bring joy to others, especially those in most need of a caring cyberfriend.