A Year of Gratitude – January 19, 2024

My gratitude came to me today while my son and I were working on my flooring project. Actually, it came to me as we wrapped up three solid hours of work. We were tired, covered in dust, and just ready to be finished for the day.

It might seem like an odd place to find my gratitude, but I did. I leaned back from the work before us and saw all that we had done, really took in the transformation before me.

We’ve removed decades of paint from these boards to let them feel the sun from the windows on the western side of the farmhouse. We tested out homemade wood fillers and placed cotton/hemp rope in the large gaps that the years have created.

We’ve hopefully made this space better, given it another generation’s life to witness. Today it witnessed a mother’s pride as I watched my son work along with a heaping dose of gratitude for a helpful hand to make lighter work of today’s task.

Gratitude can be found in all sorts of places. Today, mine was found sitting on this wood floor, prepping the surface for wood filler and finish. It came from having the help of my son and for my hope that someday he’ll continue my tradition of fixing things with his own hands.

My parents taught me to fix things, to try things, to believe that I could make something better. The older I get, the more grateful I am for the experiences they involved me in. I hope that I have taught him the same lessons and that he’ll pass them on to someone else someday.

I hope that you found your own gratitude today and that the day was kind to you.

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.