Day 47: final hour

47 days. Seems like a long time, right? I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

I read somewhere that a treatment psychologists use for patients with depression is having them write down three things they are thankful for every day for 21 days. After 21 days noticing the positive should become a habit. That is how long it is thought to change an attitude, change a behavior, change yourself.

Did I change? I hope so. I would like to think that after this I will see the blessings more clearly, that I will say thank you and I love you more often, that I will forgive a little quicker, and laugh louder.

While I was contemplating on the point of this whole experiment, I looked back over my posts. I saw a trend, very few of my posts were about physical items. I live in a first world country so I have a million things surrounding me, but those aren't the things that make an impact on me. These aren't the things I am thankful for.

I’m thankful for things like family and friends, sunshine and chivalry. I am thankful for kind words and people that make me smile. These are things that can’t be bought or sold. I think that’s the point. 

Happiness can’t be bought or sold. Therefore, anyone can have it if they choose it. Honestly, most everyone already has it, they just haven't opened their eyes to see it.  

The things that make me happy have nothing to do with money or power. They have everything to do with the people I am surrounded by.

 So, thank you all for reading my daily ramblings. Whether it made an impact on you or not, I at least hope it made you smile.

Open your eyes. Be thankful. Thankful for your life, and for those around you. And don’t forget to say it, let them know how much they matter. 

Happy Easter everyone. 

    

Day 46: playtime isn't just for kids

As I was in the Safeway parking lot today, I watched this older couple, probably late sixties or early seventies, grab a cart and walk towards the front door. Seems like a normal day right? It was, which is why it made me smile.

As the gentleman was walking with the cart, he gleefully pushed off hard and stepped onto the bars to go for a ride. I remember doing this as a kid whenever my mom wasn’t looking. I think that was the best part; that I was doing something exhilarating that I wasn’t supposed to do.

I haven’t done that in years. But that man was having SUCH a fabulous time. He didn't care that it was childish, he didn't care that people saw him. He was simply having a good time.

I want to hold on to this memory. This man reminded me to have fun, regardless of age and audience.

Thank you, unknown man. You brightened my day.  

Day 45: the extra step

I am thankful for professors who give extra credit work. I would not have the GPA I have today (even though it isn't necessarily stellar) if it wasn't for extra credit.

I appreciate a professor so much more when they are understanding and try to help you out. The ones who don’t get enjoyment out of making your day worse; the ones who genuinely try and genuinely care.    

Day 44: semi truck

I was hit by a semi-truck of a cold today. It the oh so dreaded prefinals cold brought on by stress and exhaustion that knocks you flat on your rear end and makes it very difficult to get back up.

I’m thankful for modern medicine, even as simple as ibuprofen.

Such a little pill, so common now days. But makes surviving a killer cold in college a little easier. 

Day 43: knock knock

I am thankful for opening up my front door to this today.

I am thankful for those friends I have that know me well enough to know when I am having a bad day, and who care enough about me to go out of their way to cheer me up.

I know I've already done a shout out to good friends, but this one deserved an extra special thank you.

Liz, you're the best! 

Day 42: an apple a day keeps the doctors away

I love the feeling right after you go grocery shopping.
You have so many choices for food, everything is fresh and new, and it all looks so good. Fresh vegetables, meat that doesn't need to be thawed, and opening up that fresh bag of coffee all just make me so happy.
I am normally not a huge cook, but I'm slowly starting to like cooking my own food. (This is a big step for me, I'm sure I have a few family members that just fainted from surprise.) Since I was raised in a very healthy household, I've noticed that eating unhealthy food really makes me feel like crap. Maybe it is just because I never ate it while growing up so I'm not used to the feeling of unhealthy food. I will get a pizza once in a blue moon, and I cannot remember the last time I bought fast food or a frozen dinner.
I love spending 80% of my time in the produce section when I'm grocery shopping.
I love vegetables. I love when they fill up my fridge.

I am thankful grocery store day.

Day 41: scribe

Have you ever thought about how much it must have sucked to be a scribe?
Like waaaaay back when.
When they did calligraphy and wrote with quills and ink.

I took handwritten notes for the first time in a long the other day.
It sucked.
I was writing in pen because I hate pencil and I kept spelling things wrong, or it looked messy. Being the perfectionist I am, I kept starting the same notes over until they were legible.

It got me thinking about how my parents never used a laptop to take notes.
It also got me to thinking about how pencils and even some pens can erase their mistakes, a quill and ink can't.

It must have been awful to be a scribe. Every word had to be perfect. It had to be evenly spaced and legible and beautiful. And these people weren't writing nursery rhymes, they were writing heavy duty books like the Bible.If you made one mistake it was ruined and and you had to start over.
But they were also probably so much more careful with their words. Because once they were written, they couldn't press a backspace button.
They also probably valued the final outcome so much more, simply because of the effort put in.
It's kind of poetic, in a way.

But for my sanity in the classroom, I am so thankful for my laptop. It spell checks my words, spaces out each letter and word perfectly, and I can make the words look beautiful with just a few clicks.
Crisp and clean when printed.
Very handy. much better than my chicken scratch hand written notes.