Tag Archives: being grateful

July 5, 2026 · 9:30 pm

Little Things –

Brooke Cagle – Unsplash

When I died twice the night of February 11, 2025, the good people who installed a pacemaker also seem to have installed a different OUTLOOK on life.

I got a booster when our son came and helped us, convincing us to move to Thailand and retire where we could be close to him. My husband’s stroke 2 weeks after we arrived was the final piece to my personal life’s puzzle and I am forever changed.

I.L. Williams’ quote above says it all. What USED to be unremarkable is now everything, seen through a grateful new lens.

  • I wake up grateful to wake up – methodically rising at 4:30 to get ready for our daily session at the gym. My ‘gym buddy’ encourages me to show up and do what will improve my balance that was compromised in my hospital stay, plus my stamina. My determination to start each day with some discipline and routine sets the tone for the rest of my day.
  • This morning was nice, with the pollution index app showing ‘good’ quality air, so I turned off my air filters and opened my windows to enjoy the light and air free flowing into my condo (MY first place by myself EVER.) My son has helped me furnish it with sturdy pieces for my computer area, dining area, TV stand, puzzle table, bedroom stuff, and good chairs.
  • The problems my condo had (leaky windows, a shower head that trickled and leaked, a door that stuck – causing me problems getting in and out for a while, among others) have been fixed now. There are remaining issues, but they can wait forever if need be. I LOVE my place!
  • My husband is in a good, well run and CARING nursing home. His health issues are grim, but he is calm and comfortable, glad when my son and I visit. I will be forever grateful regarding the timing of our move here -crucial to all the rest. We would have been in dire straits if Harvey’s issues had happened at our old home in the States.
  • My health is improving since I finally got the rest of the lard I had been caring around for years OFF. I’ve lost a total of about 95 pounds and about 90 some inches now, and am at a good weight for my height (though I’m shrinking). I am concentrating on eating good food with monitored portions and exercising twice a day (yoga stretches, water bottle exercises, and going down the stairs – and up a little now – plus taking some good supplements and drinking lots more water.
  • I have the freedom to arrange most of my days (when we don’t have appointments or are going to visit my husband) to my liking, cramming each one with as many fun things as I have time and energy to do. That freedom increases the calm I feel. I don’t feel rushed. I can spend as much or as little time on things as I would like. How wonderful is that!!
  • A short list of my ‘joy’ creators are – writing posts for this blog as first and foremost. I have met many beautiful people through it and answering comments is a high point of my day. I spend a lot of time researching to find things I think are wonderful to share. It is a total joy. Trying to teach myself to draw and then painting the sketches brings me concentration, challenge, and a sense of purpose. I love choosing things to sketch, or making them up, doing the best I can at the time to bring them to paper, doing the base painting at home and then taking my supplies to the cafe to add the details and start new sketches while enjoying a latte. Sometimes I get my favorite spot by the front window, but it’s a joy wherever I’m sitting. Working on a jigsaw puzzle and leaving it out so I can work on it whenever the mood strikes. Practicing trying to relearn and play a used guitar and sing with it eventually is my newest challenge. I used to do this to help make money for my college. Now that’s all gone (it’s been at LEAST 50 years) but I’m enjoying the trying. Reading good books, listening to music, sharing meals with my son.
  • New things-listening to birds sing on a regular basis. Finding a cute little gecko sharing my condo with me. Taking a picture of a squirrel in a tree outside my window. Taking pictures of two different lizards that live somewhere around the cafe. Listening to the gazillion frogs that are singing to us as we go to the gym. Gathering fallen flowers and leaves that I’ve never seen before. The joy of watching the Thai people and the tourists walk past the cafe going about their business. Discovering how many hard working Thai people make their living in three-wheeled carts filled to the gills with products or services performed right in the street. Seeing the beautiful women and their sense of style. Goggling at the traffic that continues to amaze me.
  • New challenges – trying to learn more Thai phrases and customs. Learning about the money and making simple transactions. Taking short walks in my neighborhood – going around the block so I don’t have to cross the street – which is a master course in not getting hit or causing anyone problems.
  • New joys – meeting more and more Thai people who have to be some of the kindest people on the planet.

These “little” things encompass my life now and cause the happiness to simply bubble up inside me and spill over. I’m so grateful for a 2nd chance at life to fully live each day, totally aware of how lucky I am, how much I have now, and a purpose to enjoy every moment.

_________

“Life is just a lot of everyday adventures.”
― Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn

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January 27, 2026 · 11:09 pm

Harvesting “Happy”

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“Embrace the glorious mess that you are, for therein lies your unique joy.”

_______________

My mother-in-law was the perfect role model for being happy. When she and my father-in-law were riding with us to their new home at the Assisted Living Center in Tulsa, I asked her how she felt about the move.

She said, “I love it.” Surprised, I asked her how she felt that when she hadn’t really seen it thoroughly, met anyone…. She answered, “I’m going to love it. I’m going to make my room my own. I’m going to make friends. I’m going to love the food, the activities – everything!”

My mother would have described it by saying, “Attitude is all.”

You don’t ‘find’ happiness, Other people can’t provide it for you. You can’t strive for it, search for it, yearn for it. IT COMES FROM INSIDE YOU.

Some of unhappiest people have a lot of money, houses, cars, THINGS surrounding them and they still aren’t ‘happy. Others ask others to provide it for them – they get married, have kids, get a good job, and they aren’t ‘happy.’

Happiness is a conscious decision to be happy. That probably sounds dumb, but I believe it’s true. It’s all in how how you look at yourself, your situation, your life.

To be happy, start by accepting yourself. Yeah, you might need to lose some weight, maybe you wish your nose was shorter or had a cute upturn. Maybe your clothes would fit better if you were thinner and taller. Maybe…

Accept yourself and your uniqueness, perceived flaws, wishes, and all. You are YOU. You have a unique place in the world. You have people who like you, maybe even love you. If you really want to change something, you have the ability to do that. Concentrate on the people around you who give you joy. Happiness is being kind to the people you care about first, letting them know how much they mean to you, how much you appreciate them and are glad you are that they are in your life.

Happiness is recognizing all you have and being grateful. Be happy with less. Simplify. Realize how rich you are with what you have now. Give away things you don’t really need, haven’t used in ages, don’t really mean something to you. Take the time to think about all the things you have, the fact that you have something to eat, a place to sleep, maybe even a person or pet to cuddle with.

Happiness is learning to adjust to what is happening around you, whether at your job, in your family, or in the world. If what is happening is making you upset, angry, scared – really think about whether you can do anything about it. If you can, make concrete plans to do one thing at a time to improve the situation, If there is nothing you can really do about it, accept it for what it is, then try to ignore it, if possible, distract yourself by filling your life with things that give you pleasure, make you smile.

Happiness is accepting that you, things around you, aren’t perfect and never will be. They don’t have to be in order for you to decide to be happy. Accepting what is true, being grateful for what you have, consciously deciding how to change things you can and work around things you can’t, all point to ‘deciding to be happy,’ and building an attitude of positivity.

It doesn’t change overnight. It’s a constant series of conscious, positive actions that result in your feeling better, smiling more, enjoying life more.

We are all ‘glorious messes.’ Isn’t that wonderful?

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August 11, 2025 · 12:31 am

Never Too Late

Carol Saylor – Pinterest

Getting older is quite a mixed bag.

In the past I cringed when celebrating another birthday. It depressed me that I still weighed much more than I wanted to, but couldn’t seem to find the motivation to stuff less into my mouth, pay closer attention to what I was eating, or get off my duff to do some honest exercise. My main focus was escape.

I hurt. I fixated on what was hurting and tried to find quick fixes that would make me feel better, the latest nostrums proving you would feel younger, sexier, have more energy, would lose that stubborn fat, would make me look like Julia Roberts..😃.

There were still things I loved, of course. I lived in a nice house, could escape into my art room and try to learn another technique or skill. Right before we moved, I had taken up wood burning. It was loads of fun, and I could spend hours figuring out what I wanted to create and then lose myself in the process. It was especially gratifying when someone liked what I had listed in my Etsy shop enough to want to give it a home.

I escaped into Nora Roberts books – her regular romance books plus the JD Robb collection. She would grab my interest and take me away from my problems, allowing me some peace.

I worked out in the yard. I tended my flowers, weeded my square foot veggie garden, edged, weed-whacked, trying to tame the small area around the house we tried to keep civilized.

My husband and I were getting older, though, and couldn’t really take care of the house and yard the way we wanted to. It was simply too much and we hadn’t admitted it yet. And then we both got sick at the same time. We were SO ill that we could barely drive to the clinic. We both had Flu A. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen for which the doctor insisted I go to the ER. My friend Carla drove me, leaving my husband to fend for himself the best way he could.

I was in the hospital a week. I died twice on February 11th. My heart simply stopped. I had a temporary pacemaker installed, and then a permanent one. We were still too sick to take care of each other, so I wrote our son Brian, who lived in Thailand, and asked him to come home.

We ended up selling everything we owned and flying to Thailand to live near Brian. Two weeks after we got here, my husband had a stroke and fell in the shower. He underwent two surgeries, stayed in the hospital for a month, and is now living in a nursing home.

Dying, moving to Thailand, trying to help my husband, settling a new living space in a country where I don’t speak the language, am trying to set up finances, etc., makes one rethink.

I have been given a second chance. I have resolved to finally finish getting the extra lard off, exercise every day, eat mindfully, and embrace all that is wonderful around me.

My main feeling these days is gratitude. I am trying to absorb the customs of the people of this beautiful country and show in every way I am able how HAPPY I am to be alive. I am trying to make each day count, trying to show my husband how much I still love him, even though his future is very uncertain. I am trying to do all I can not to be a burden on our son, who has taken everything onto his shoulders, trying to do all he can to make the rest of our lives the best that they can be.

I am feeling so lucky to have such a caring son, a person to share with, do things with, listen to, and trying to make him laugh at least once a day.

Second chances come rarely. I’m trying to use mine wisely.

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April 30, 2022 · 9:52 am

Attitude

As I type this, we’re about to get a downpour. Our skies are very dark – like night – but it’s just supposed to be heavy rain, nothing severe. For that I am grateful.

I’m also thankful that, after MUCH searching lately, we finally found the zero sugar Mtn Dew Spark raspberry-lemonade drink my husband wanted. We couldn’t find it locally. Our local grocery was the place my husband found it, but the grocery changed hands and the new owner doesn’t stock it, at least not ‘yet.’ We lucked out at Target in Ft. Smith yesterday afternoon. We stocked up, and he should be in good shape for a good while now. He is Type II diabetic and it’s really important he stick with zero sugar things as much as humanly possible.

I’m grateful I don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking today. (I replenished our supply of hard-boiled eggs a couple of days ago. I made a double batch of low carb biscuits. Two days ago I made a pot roast.) My husband was really happy with it and asked if we could have more tonight. I ‘graciously’ said, “Sure!” So all I need to do is heat things up, cook a veggie, toss a salad, and dinner is ready. :0)

I’m grateful for what should be a quiet day. Since it’s about to rain, work outside isn’t possible. The first thing I’ll do today (after writing some blog posts) is package the meat and chicken we bought recently for the freezer. Then I’ll start the project I was planning to start yesterday – reorganizing our pantry. I’m starting with our medicines.

PopSugar Fitness

I’m grateful that I can do the exercise I want to do in the comfort of my own home, regardless of the weather, without having to plan it around a lot of other people’s schedules. I do my exercise videos right here at my computer. I just put on my headphones, grab my weights, and start. My elliptical trainer is in our garage. Unless the temperature is really high or really low, I’m good to go there. I now have my new MP3 player so I can listen to some tunes while I use it. Then, I unroll my yoga mat in the living room, take off my shoes, put the two pillows on the floor, and I can stretch myself in all directions – sometimes with the help of our cat, Abby, and our dog, Amber.

MUCH gratitude on this last day of April.

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