A Year of Gratitude – March 29, 2024
I usually find my gratitude for having been in a particular place, for experiencing something, seeing something beautiful, or just enjoying the spot where I am. I try to be mindful of the little moments. I do my best to find joy in the happenings in my everyday life.
Today, I was grateful for not being somewhere. I was grateful that no one in my family had been standing on this spot when the winds picked up and twisted a branch on this old tree until it came loose and fell to the earth below.
It came down with a thud. Penny Lane ran to the window and barked at the sound. I looked outside and saw that one of our old trees had lost a large limb. It was covering the driveway.
We bundled up and headed outside to inspect the damage. We moved the enormous limb off the driveway. We talked about how lucky we were that it hadn’t fell as one of us was walking out to retrieve the mail from the mailbox which was only steps away.
I’m sure that there are plenty of instances of unknown gratitude I would have for not having been in a particular place at a specific time. Usually, they are unknown to me because I wasn’t there. Because they are unknown, I can’t possibly feel gratitude for them.
In this case, I could. I wasn’t there but I could have been. Any of us could have been. I’m so glad that we weren’t. I’m grateful that there wasn’t any damage to repair, that we could move this limb and return to the safety of the farmhouse while we wait for the latest wind event to pass.
The wind is howling outside as I write this tonight. Penny Lane is napping on the couch, much too sleepy to want to bark at the noise outside. She’s not worrying about what might happen or what could have happened. She’s mindful of where she is now and she is warm, cozy, and content. I was grateful for not being near this limb when it broke loose today and I am so grateful to be cozy in the farmhouse tonight listening to Penny Lane snore on the couch next to me.
This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.