We are sitting in Napier, New Zealand that a year ago had to endure Cyclone Gabrielle. The owners had a sitter at the time that deserves a medal for coping with truly horrendous circumstances.
The area is still recovering and seeing houses buckled, abandoned, swathes of land flattened and businesses that are no more and speaking to folk they lived through the cyclone makes me feel so grateful we wasn’t here this time last year.
Grateful for:
Flying safely and on time, with an empty seat next to me.
Experiencing nostalgia on returning to Portland. Also grateful to have lived here before.
Easily picking up a rental car in time to grab doughnuts from Voodoo. Yum and more nostalgia, from decades ago.
Unwinding at a comfortable hotel before starting a sit.
Enjoying a late-night meal, thanks to DoorDash.
Getting to catch up with friends here.
Being recruited by various companies into my 50s and coincidentally sitting in Portland, where it turns out I’ll get to meet one of those CEOs.
Grateful that Winter is packing its bags and will be heading off soon
Today I’m feeling especially grateful to have such wonderful friends and family. I’ve just caught up with a couple of my “adventure friends” - we go off and have day trips from time to time - and our next adventure is going to see one of them perform in a local production of the 9 to 5 musical!
Greateful as I sip tea and relax that mine and my wife’s efforts over 25 in years in business allowed for us to early “retire.”
And that her wrist surgery went perfectly and she is starting OT.
And although very bitter sweet (my mom’s passing) I can begin to sit again and have a repeat sit with a most wonderful dog in May; a real love if a pup!
Sending all good wishes @HelloOutThere - great news about your wife’s surgery going well - though I’m so sorry to hear that your mom passed.
I hope having some lovely pup times in May is healing and happy for you.
@Maggie8K I had my first Voo Doo doughnut (the cream cannoli) in Denver recently! Your photo reminded me that there are so many more to try 
This thread makes me smile! 
Glad you’re trying them, @Carla.
Voodoo is my nostalgic favorite. Decades ago, coworkers and I sometimes used to hop in a car and get a quick box in between editing editions of the local newspaper.
Try Blue Star Donuts if you get the chance in Portland. It’s my favorite quality wise. There are various locations, including one at the airport.
Grateful for careers that have afforded self-actualization and have rarely felt like work. My parents and their friends were uneducated immigrants and worked simply to earn. I feel super lucky to have choices by contrast.
My decades in news afforded countless adventures. I was fortunate to come up before the industry’s business model fell off a cliff. I switched to the startup world a decade ago. I want to work indefinitely and maybe experience another IPO, but startups require a lot of energy and nonstop learning. They skew young.
I love collaborating with folks who imagine and build the future. It’s a privilege, however long I get to do it.
This is so lovely @Jenny 
Today I’m grateful that I was able to spend yesterday (Mother’s Day in the UK) with my parents, share a good meal with them, and just enjoy relaxing with them.
Grateful that I’ll be returning home to my husband and dog tomorrow, following a heartbreaking sit.
My elderly and sick sit dog ended up being put down after her humans rushed home to say goodbye.
I feel the privilege of having spent her last quality days with her. We had less than two weeks together, but she was so easy to love. Sweet little soul. I will definitely remember her.
Now, I really want to go home and hug my dog:
After having hip replacement surgery last week, I find myself truly and totally grateful.
I am grateful to all the doctors, nurses, therapists, who were instrumental in my recovery progress.
I am grateful for all the small victories: Getting out of bed without assistance; being able to take a shower on my own; being able to get dressed on my own; and whereas I once used a walker, now I am using a walking cane.
I am also grateful to the cooks who prepared meals and the cleaners who cleaned my room in the hospital and in the rehabilitation facility.
I am grateful to be back home.
Truly and Totally Grateful!
I’m grateful to be back in Monterey on a third repeat sit. Also, for the mild sunny weather and a good dose of Vitamin sea
I’m grateful for having a financially comfortable retirement; I’m very thankful to my younger self for being responsible enough to pay into an occupational pension scheme despite times when it was pretty hard to find the money but I made good choices. It’s meant that I could retire at aged 60 with financial independence…… if you’re young please think about ageing as it arrives in the blink of an eye!
So yesterday – a Sunday, we were leaving a sit. I’ve got a car which makes getaway sits to “the country” and small towns a possibility, but it’s an old car. The a/c doesn’t work, and we decided it wasn’t worth replacing, but Sunday we ran into a problem. The stretchy nylan-like material that makes up the “ceiling” in the interior started to come off in the back owing to all the wind of the open windows. My spouse couldn’t see anything in back, so I got in to hold it up while we went to a Walmart to look for tape and scissors to secure the material.
We accomplished that mission, but leaving the lot, we suddenly noticed a squeak as we were leaving when making right turns. It felt like the wheel was hitting something. We looked under the car and could see that part of the splash guard was loose and might have lost a clip. We weren’t sure what to to. It was a Sunday afternoon. The masking tape option did not seem like it would work for this! I called AAA who were useless telling us the choice was: a technician could change a tire or they could send a tow truck. They couldn’t send anyone who could problem solve and figure out how to get us safely back on the road.
Then we realized – there was a Walmart Auto Center at the Walmart. AND IT WAS OPEN! Miracle. It wasn’t busy and the lone guy working there looked at the wheel well and felt around. He went back and found a clip and found the spot where a clip was missing and managed to get it on. We offered him some cash, which he didn’t take. I realize now it might not have been saintliness but could have been store policy enforced by cameras, but at the time we just thought of him as our angel of the road. We made it home safely although I did sit in the back just in case my masking tape repair wouldn’t hold – but it did.
So I am grateful that: We wound up in the Walmart lot. The Auto Center was open on a Sunday afternoon. The guy working there was a nice human who was willing to help us. We got home safely.
Grateful for our neighborhood.
I decided to buy our place when I drove up the first time, because of the area’s unexpected lushness, plus there’s a small lake across the street. Yesterday, a DoorDash driver said he drove past our house and had to turn around, because he was too busy admiring the lake.
Our rescue pooch is lucky. He gets to sniff where countless dogs wander. Plus, there are plenty of squirrels, as well as geese and ducks, some with their young ‘uns waddling behind.
I fell and fractured my arm in January, still not fully healed but no cast and no surgery, just a sling.
May you have the best outcome.
My wife is back at practicing pickup ball with some of her buddies, so, still much to be grateful for in this house!
I am grateful that I did the SRF app guided meditation. It truly makes me relax and step out of overthinking.
I am grateful to share apartment with my father’s wife (another mother since 21 years!) for a couple of night while we supporting my terminal ill father (her husband).
I am grateful that I finding methods for balancing my introvert side and keep my stress pains in a rather good balance.
