You know, I really am grateful for the memories I have made throughout my life. They are both good and bad, though not as many bad, but they involve people that I love, places I have been and experiences that I have had. And none of them would even be possible if I did not have a grateful heart to realize that those instances in my life have helped make me who I am today. I remember teachers that helped me when I was young by encouraging me to pursue whatever course in life I wanted. I remember never being told no if I wanted to try something new. I remember having to take a freshman class my senior year so that I could get my advanced diploma and a week into the class having the teacher realize it was boring for me so he proposed and independent study on Machiavelli for me instead. I learned a lot about research and working on a project independently through that class.
I remember it seems that growing up always taking some kind of vacation with our family. It may have only been to a place a few hours from our home to meet family friends, but it was time we spent away from home, experiencing a new place and also being able to appreciate coming home. Many times it would be to other states, like Oklahoma, Florida or Massachusetts. Those trips allowed us to see a different part of our country and made me really appreciate the beauty of where I live in Virginia. I am so grateful that my parents thought it was important to make those trips. Many people that I work with have never been more than 50 miles from their home and have no desire to travel.
And then when Keith and I met I traveled to California to begin a new life as a married couple. I have memories of our first apartment, and how wonderful we thought it was, when in all reality, it probably was a dive, but it was our first place. Now we can look back at where we are now and laugh about that first apartment. And our second apartment there, even though it was better, was still somewhere I am thankful I don’t live today. In 1994 when we were back living in Virginia we were horrified to see our apartment complex on the news when the Northridge earthquake happened. The second floor collapsed onto the first, where we had lived. Those kind of memories are scary yet they make me grateful for how things happen in our lives for a reason.
I also have wonderful memories of those that are no longer in my life. I am really grateful that I live in an age where we have pictures to help us capture those memories and preserve them. I am grateful that I am able to write this blog to help preserve memories. Growing up I always wanted to keep a diary or journal but never could finish what I started. I have been writing this blog for over a year now and I consider that a huge success for me. Granted, not all of the posts are written posts, many are items that I share, but they are items I create or curate and are a record of what I am experiencing at that time in my life. I hope that I can continue to document and preserve memories through this blog for years to come. I like being able to go back through the posts and relive moments in my life that I may have forgotten about, such as flowers that were blooming on a particular day in the garden or a visitor that stopped by or an image from somewhere Keith and I have visited.
And I will keep making memories to fill my grateful heart!
Quote and numeric graphic by Kristen Creech from her 30 Days of Gratitude kit.
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