Gratitude

Life has been a bit of a bummer lately. Eleanor the kitty has been sick, and she has had to start a new medicine for her thyroid. As she gets older, or older than the old-as-dirt she is now, I have had to contemplate her eventual demise. I hate that.  She's been my only true constant for the last 17 years.  I was talking to my sister, Patti, about the bloodwork. She said "You know what they're going to tell you? They're going to tell you that it's unnatural for a cat to live that long!"  But still, every morning she wakes me up and we cuddle.  I carry her downstairs for a drink of water and some breakfast.  Then medicine and back upstairs so I can dress and do my hair.  She sometimes give me an opinion on an outfit.  Sometimes I just drug her with catnip.  We have similar routines for after work and evening and she has stuff that she does with G now too.  It's a lovely life.

The thought of not having that makes me need to breathe in a paper bag.  She seems to be responding to the medicine, but still isn't eating much.  This morning was the most she's eaten- a quarter of her canned food.  She has turned her nose up at the most tempting foods- yogurt- and the holy grail of her existence, canned tuna.  Hopefully this week she will get back towards normal.

So, in the meantime, I have to manage my anxiety.  The best thing I can do is make a gratitude list. If you're not familiar, a gratitude list is a list of specific things for which one is thankful.  It helps to see the beauty and kindness of one's everyday life and gives focus to the positive.  So here we go, things I am thankful for:

1. Seeing old classmates last weekend that I haven't seen in 20 years.
2. Flip flops.
3. Old fuzzy kitties and a patient husband.
4. Fall is coming!
5. G seems pretty ok with his new job and we both get to walk to work.
6. Health insurance. We both have it. And a roof over our heads and electricity and food. And we don't have to worry about those being in jeopardy.
7. Family. I've been able to reconnect with my nieces and nephews this year. I hope they come visit sometime. I'm going to include friends here to, since most of them are as close as family.
8. Working out lately with my friend Kim and enjoying it- even at 7 a.m.
9. So far, everyone in our family has good health. And we had three healthy babies born this year; two on my side, one on G's side.
10.  Travel. We have gone on several day trips and a few overnighters.  We're heading out again on Saturday.  There is a lot to do and love about Washington and Oregon. How could we not take advantage?

Ok, I'm feeling better. See? It works.  What are you most grateful for? Leave a note in the comments!