Gratitude Challenge

Reprinted from my Facebook page:

I have been nominated  to take the gratitude challenge. Each day, for the next five days, I will post three things for which I am grateful. 

Day 1

1. I am grateful for my husband - he is my strength, my soulmate, the love of my life.  

2. I am grateful for my children. They have become the best adults I know and I learn from them everyday. They make me a better person.

3. I am grateful for my extended family - (siblings, nephews, cousins) - we were all taught the true meaning of family at an early age and I am so grateful to be part of such a loving bunch of crazy people!


Day 2

1. I am grateful for my "old" friends. We have seen the best and the worst of each other throughout the years. We have stuck by each other and helped raise each other's kids. We can now revel in the joys of our grandchildren together. As the saying goes, "you can't make OLD friends". 

2. I am grateful for my "new" friends. God has put each of us together on... this path we walk for a reason. One day, we will be 'old' friends, too. 

3. I am grateful for the furry friends in my life: Brandy, the St. Bernard; Louie, the tea-cup yorkie; I.C., our 13 yr old blind cat; Pepper and Boo; the rescue cats that Mr. Wonderful picked up as dying kittens on the street; Sloan, the mutt we inherited from our daughter; and the 50 stray cats that Mr. Wonderful feeds each day. They have brought love and warmth into our home, not to mention the need for an industrial strength vacuum cleaner..... the staff at PetSmart see Mike so often, they think he works there!!

Day 3

1. I am thankful for my job. I love what I do and grateful that after 14 years, I still “whistle on my way to work” each day. I work with wonderful people who have become part of my extended family – they are like big brothers who will always watch over me.

 2. I am thankful that I believe in God. I think we all need a higher power to believe in when things here on earth go awry. I was sure to give my children a strong religious upbringing so they, too, would have the ability to give thanks, pray and find comfort in God. They all seem to have strong moral fiber and good ethics in all they do.

 3. I am thankful that we were always able to provide for our family. We always had a good roof over our heads and food to eat. We were always able to give the children all of what they needed and some of what they wanted.

Day 4

1. I am grateful to be living on Long Island, the greatest place on Earth! - We are minutes away from the water and less than an hour from NYC. I am blessed to have all my children live close by, as well. We have 4 seasons and I find something beautiful in each of them. 

2. I am thankful for the many talents that were passed down to me. Thanks to my grandmother, I can cook damn near anything. She also taught me how to iron before I was tall enough to reach an ironing board - I stood on an empty milk crate ironing handkerchiefs before I graduated to pillow cases!! Thanks to my dear Godmother who taught me to sew and crochet, also at an early age. It was when I was expecting our first granddaughter that I revived these hidden talents. 

3. I am thankful that my dad fostered a love of music in us. I can appreciate nearly all kinds of music, but my favorites are the golden oldies of yester-year - Sinatra, especially! I will forgive him for making me take accordion lessons all those years. I know I've paved my way into Heaven performing for all the relatives at family gatherings

Day 5

1. I am grateful that I am comfortable in my skin. I like who I am. I try to be a good person and make good decisions everyday. I work hard to put my head on my pillow each night knowing that I did my best each day.

2. I am thankful that we were volunteers as our children were growing up. They saw the time and effort we put into little league, scouting, religious education, and donating goods and services to all organizations. They all understand how important it is to "give back".

3. As Mr. Wonderful and I enjoy our empty nest, I am thankful that we are so content to just be together. We enjoy the mayhem when the whole gang is together just as much as we relish our quiet times. Home is the best place to be.....