It's that time of the month again to share a little bit of my life and join in with the other Share Our Lives bloggers. This month the prompt is: How we express gratitude!
Gratitude is one of those words that seems to get used everywhere these days, it really has become a big thing! When I hear the word gratitude I always picture pretty notebooks, inspirational quotes and someone writing down five things they're grateful for every morning while sitting with a cup of herbal tea while I'm over here being grateful that I managed to put on matching socks this morning. Gratitude is more simple than that for me. It's seeing the little things that make life better, appreciating the people around me, being thankful when someone does something kind and giving myself a little pat on the back for getting through the day without wanting to scream into a cushion!
I definitely say thank you a lot and each time I mean it. To the bus driver, the person who held a door open, the lovely woman in the local cafe who remembers my order before I've even said what I want, the shop assistant who gives me a carrier bag when I'm struggling with far too much shopping, my girls when they do something without me having to ask and sometimes I'll add a little extra to it and say that really made my day or I really appreciate that. It might only take a few seconds but I think it matters.
I make a note every day of at least one thing I'm grateful for, you might have seen my grateful posts, there's one every month. Some days it's big, emotional stuff and other days it's my cup of tea stayed hot and that's enough. Writing it down makes me notice those little moments and the best part is looking back and realising how many good things happened on days I thought were rubbish at the time. There are things that I would have forgotten if I hadn't taken thirty seconds to write them down.
Food is another big one for me. There's something about feeding people that makes them feel looked after and makes me happy. I cook for my girls friends, I try new recipes to make my fella smile and even when they don't quite go to plan and we pretend it was meant to taste like. Sometimes I make myself a little snack just because I fancy it and because I deserve it too. Food is gratitude.
Time is another way I express gratitude. Life is busy, everyone is always tired and there is always something to do so pressing pause it all to give someone all of my attention feels like a big deal these days. Listening to someone even if it's a story I've heard a hundred times before shows them that I care, sitting down for a proper chat when someone needs to vent or listening to the girls talk about their day. That is my way of saying you matter to me and how I show I care.
Being grateful to myself hasn't come naturally. For a long time gratitude was something I showed to other people who deserved it and had earned it. Now I show gratitude to myself by scrolling on my phone without feeling guilty, resting and not feeling bad for not doing something productive and letting myself enjoy an episode of a TV show without needing to justify it first.
So that's how I express gratitude in my corner of the world. How do you express gratitude?
I am linking up with:
Adrienne from Mom Life with Adrienne.
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