I’m an optimist. As the author of a daily blog on gratitude and joy, that probably isn’t much of a surprise. To be fair, though, it’s only partially true. I’d actually describe myself as a version of an optimist. I like to hope for the best, but I plan for the worst. I’ve said many times that reality hits somewhere in the middle.
I thought about that as I considered writing this blog nearly 300 days ago. I pondered all the things I am grateful for and all things that bring me joy. I started a list, just one or two words to describe each thing. As the list grew, I decided to challenge myself and tackle the concept of 365 days – not missing a single one – of shared joy. At the time it seemed like it would be easy.
Just yesterday, I ran into a man who runs a local business. He mentioned he reads my blog everyday and teased, “Don’t I bring you joy?” I told him when he comes to take care of the twice yearly task we hire him to do, it’s almost certainly going to be the blog for that day. (I’m going to leave this as a bit of a tease for you all and not share what it is until the time comes.)
Thinking about that conversation as I woke up this morning, I realized I have so many things to be grateful for that are hard to write about and especially hard to illustrate. There are the regular phone calls with my daughter. We share our days, our frustrations, our triumphs and a whole lot of absolutely nothing – banter and chit chat.
I love those flashes of time in a day when things are just going along normally and there’s nothing special to take note of like the first sip of coffee in the morning or the minute the dishes are done and you press the start button on the dishwasher.
There are the moments that still surprise me when Greg walks up to me, flashes a huge grin and just gives me a kiss and says he loves me. Our relationship is so filled with joy and I am so grateful for the ease and comfort that comes with it.
As silly as it seems, I am grateful for coupons and magazines and junk mail. No one ever seems to send letters and cards anymore, but there is still a tiny thrill that comes with opening the mailbox and seeing something inside.
When I started the year out, one of the things I’d hoped would happen is that these daily missives would bring happiness to others and perhaps inspire them to find a little joy of their own along the way. I hope that’s happening! With only 86 days left in my year, I don’t have much time left to achieve that goal.
There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Find your joy today!
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