Day 188, July 7

I have another confession to make: I am a craigslist.junkie. I use it to identify garage sales (one of my vices) and, occasionally, to list things for sale. One day I had the brilliant idea of going to the barter section. There, I listed that I'd like to trade tutoring in English and writing for some other skill.

When I received my first (and only) response, I was thrilled. Maybe I could work out a deal for someone to do yardwork or housework in return for my tutoring their child. Imagine my surprise when I opened the email and found that a gentleman wanted me to be his "naughty, kinky teacher." He then proceeded to give his description and a number where I could reach him.

I deleted it, but not before I chuckled. I'm certain he thought he would be getting someone much younger rather than my grandmother-ish self with my pasty white skin, bad hip, and bad feet. I suppose I shouldn't find this funny, and I apologize to those who believe I should be outraged. I'm sorry that I can't summon up sufficient umbrage, but, as I've said in earlier posts, I like to laugh.

When I told my husband, he said, "Maybe you can work it in to the blog. You can be grateful for career alternatives."

Well, this will not be a new career direction for me, but it has given me my laugh for today.

So, for today, I am grateful for humor found in unexpected places.

Day 187, July 6

Did you have a special childhood place? Perhaps a place where your family went to every summer. My family had one such place. Each summer, my mother, sister, and I traveled to Tennessee and spent six weeks with our grandmother, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

Summer in eastern Tennessee was a magical place. There were June bugs to catch, a slow-moving creek to explore (complete with crawdads), and good southern cooking. My mother and aunts were not fancy cooks. They were down home cooks with a flair for infusing everything with an extra bit of flavor and a large dose of love.

My Aunt Maxie had a specialty, and I begged for it whenever I saw her: wacky cake. Wacky cake contained no eggs but was made with the unlikely combination of oil and vinegar as well as cocoa, sugar, and flour.

More than fifty years later, I can still recall the moist, humid air of late evenings, the chirping of crickets, and the delectable texture of wacky cake. Small memories. Precious memories.

So, for today, I am grateful for memories.

Day 186, July 5

"Use it up; wear it out; make it do; or do without." I have heard this bit of wisdom attributed to several people over the years. I like the counsel; more, I like the sentiments that prompted it.

Our world has become a throw-away world. We want the newest, the latest, the most up-to-date in every aspect of our lives. Who can blame us when we are bombarded from countless sources the virtues of upgrading? (That is a deceptive term. It seduces us in to thinking that if we fail to purchase the newest gee-gaw out there, we will be thought of us less.)

I remember stories from my mother of Depression years. Nothing was thrown away. Nothing was wasted. Clothes too worn for another wearing were carefully cut apart to salvage enough material for a few quilt squares. Buttons were removed from these same clothes to be used again. Bacon drippings were saved for flavoring or subsituted for the shortening called for in making bread. Sheets were cut part, then restitched to put the less-worn sides in the middle and the worn-out middle on the sides, a process called "sides-to-middlin'."

People were grateful for what they had and worked hard to make ends meet. I see a resurgence of this among some of us today as the economy causes us to tighten our collective belts. I also see others who whine that life has dealt them a raw hand and are entitled to live upon the labors of others. Unfortunately, this attitude is fostered by our government.

I have some dear friends for whom life really has dealt them a raw hand. Instead of complaining, they thank others for the least favor. The other day, my husband and I receievd a gift card in the mail from these friends, an expression of gratitude for a small favor on our parts. I was more than touched that they took time from their own problems to think of us.

So, for today, I am grateful for those who give thanks.

Day 185, July 4

It is the 4th of July. What else could I write about but freedom?

People have different ideas about freedom, about what it means, what it doesn't mean. In the last ten years, many have complained that our freedoms have been taken away as our country responds to terrorists threats.

It occurs to me that some people use their freedom unrighteously, such as the terrorists who seek to impose their will upon everyone. Then there are the people who use their freedom to fight threats to America. These are the people who have my respect and my gratitude, the men and women who serve our country so valiantly.

I've written before about my father who served in World War II. He had the opportunity to remain stateside and use his skills here, but he felt compelled to volunteer to be placed overseas and ended up in the Pacific Theater. Today, decades later, other men and women place their lives at risk to provide the rest of us with the freedoms we too frequently take for granted.

So, for today and for everyday, I am grateful for American servcie men and women.

Day 184, July 3

Yesterday I wrote about wrinkles--on the face and in life. I've learned to live with the wrinkles on my face; I've yet to learn how to cope with the life ones as well.

Because my mind tends to wander in strange ways, I postulated that perhaps I can cope with face wrinkles better than life ones because they are superficial. Those wrinkles that crop up in life tend to be deep and painful. I handle them with anger, with tears, and, finally, with the acceptance that comes through prayer. Why don't I start with prayer in the first place?

Is it because I believe I can take care of things on my own? I'm afraid so. You'd think I would get the message that I can't. As I approach turning another year older, I am hoping to find some kind of wisdom in remembering to turn to God. Prayer is that conduit. between myself and the Father

So, for today, I am grateful for prayer.

Day 183, July 2

As I've mentioned earlier, I belong to that select group of women of a certain age. We are a great group, but one of the drawbacks is the onset of wrinkles. Wrinkles have found their way onto my once smooth face. (A side note: don't waste your money on expensive wrinkle creams and age-defying creams. They don't work.)

Colorado is a state resplendent with triumphant mountains shouldering the sky and verdant valleys. These valleys could be seen as wrinkles upon the landscape. Yet to navigate from one peak to the next, one must descend into the valleys.

Last December, I descended into one of life's valleys or wrinkles. I wondered how I was going to climb my way out. I went to the Lord in prayer. He instructed me, "Be grateful."

"Be grateful," I scoffed. "What do I have to be grateful about?" (Not one of my finer moments.)

"Be grateful and then write about it." Thus was The Gratitude Project born.

At times I feel like a hypocrit writing about blessings when I am so far away from being truly grateful. Who am I to write about gratitude when I remain prideful, even arrogant? Who am I to believe that I can touch the lives of others with my words? But, with the Lord's guidance and your encouragement, I persist.

So, for today, I am grateful for the Lord's and your patience with me.

Day 184, July 1

Today marks six months of doing The Gratitude Blog. It has been a joyful and painful, revealing and concealing process of discovery. Does that sound contradictory? That may be because it is. A scripture instructs us that there must be opposition in all things.

How can something be both joyful and painful? Isn't that what life is? A journey of joy and pain and all those feelings in between? As for the revealing and concealing part, I realize that I have been more open in this blog than I usually am. I am normally a rather private person. However, inspiration from the Lord and encouragement from you have had me sharing many experiences. But there is still much I haven't shared. This is probably a good thing. I don't want to be guilty of the sin of TMI (too much information)

Well, that was a drawn-out explanation, wasn't it?

Writing this blog shows me how far I have to go in being grateful. To my husband. My children. My friends. And, most of all, to the Lord. Just as the Lord tells us that we should pray constantly, so should I be grateful constantly.

It is a humbling thing to accept that I still remain arrogant and prideful in so many areas of my life. How can I think that I know best ... in anything at all? How can I presume to write about something in which I clearly need so much work?

So, today, I am grateful for the Lord's reminder that I need to do better.