A Year of Gratitude – April 27, 2024

I found my gratitude about an hour away from home today. That’s rare for me, as I almost always find my gratitude at home. Today, I decided to spend a glorious sunny day with my daughter in Salem, Massachusetts. I enjoyed every single moment.

We had talked about taking this day trip for years. Salem is a place we have been wanting to visit, but something always seemed to get in the way. So, we picked a date a few months ago and put it on the calendar. Today was the day.

Mother Nature gave us a glorious day. We had sunshine and temperatures perfect for walking around downtown. We stopped in so many lovely little hometown shops. We traversed the cobblestone streets that were now walkways, we wandered, discovering places we hadn’t seen when we did our research online. We happened upon so many lovely spots.

My favorite way to explore a new place is to wander. Sure, you can do a lot of research ahead of time. I tend to do that to make sure that I don’t miss a spot I know that I want to visit. Yet I usually find that my favorite moments happen when they are unplanned, when we turn a corner and discover a shop, park, or historical site that seems to have just happened to fall in my path. It’s such a wonderful feeling to happen upon them that way.

While we were in Salem, we treated ourselves to a stop at Odd Meter, a local coffee shop. It was a lively spot that smelled like a coffee lover’s dream. I had scrumptious latte that was flavored with a house made chocolate lavender syrup. It was so good that I can’t wait to try and make our own version of the syrup. We also split a slice of carrot cake that was so delicious, the perfect ratio of rich cake with luscious cream cheese frosting.

I enjoyed every moment of our day in Salem together. Before we left, we resolved to make sure that we didn’t wait so long before we returned. We also made plans to take another day trip together soon. Time is precious and I want to spend my precious free time with the people I love, to be present in the moment with them. I want to wander, discovering new places, flavors, and things together. I want to make memories to hold in my heart. I can’t wait to take our next day trip together and add to those new memories.

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.