“No friendship is an accident. ” ― O. Henry

Hello there!  Wouldn’t you agree with that quote?  I don’t believe any of our friendships are accidents.  Every one I have had over the years has positively impacted my life, even if I didn’t think it at the time.   

Two Things I Am Grateful For 

  1. My very good friend Megan.  Since God has blessed me with her friendship,  I have done nothing but outgrow my fears and enjoy new experiences. Thank you, Megan.  This afternoon, she invited me to dinner.  We had a great meal at a Greek restaurant we had not visited before.  We also shared dishes that we had never had before, like mousaka.  It was also a fantastic way to celebrate the official start of our leave! 
  2. My colleague was offering complimentary tickets to a rugby match.  My son has often spoken about wanting to go to a game so I took my colleague up on his offer.  I am really grateful for my colleague’s generosity.  My son gets to tick off another new experience this holiday.
Image created on Canva

One Moment of Joy

Part of our meal this evening was roast chicken.  It tasted like my mother’s roast chicken.  I was so surprised.  That first bite transported me back to my mum’s house for a split second.  I could even feel her presence.  It was an amazing experience.  It also reminded me how much I miss her.  I am not sad, though.  I am grateful to have felt her presence, even though it was so brief.   

That’s it from me for today.  Thanks for popping in. 

Bye for now

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – Dolly Parton

It’s Day 18 of my gratitude challenge.  Today was a bittersweet day with sprinkles of sheer frustration.  But I made it through once more.  Definitely something for the grateful list and achievement list for today.

One Thing I am Grateful For 

I won a  Vaseline hat for my sister.  I was pretty chuffed as I had promised her I would try and get her one like mine, and  I did!  Whoop whoop!

Thrilled to have won a hat for my sister 😀

The Bitter and the Sweet

The company I work for is going through a significant change.  Too many have lost their jobs and the team I work in has yet to find out what our new team structure will look like and how many of us will lose our seats.  Today, I was told that two people whom I thoroughly enjoy working with will be leaving in January.  My heart was very sore.  The good news is that they jumped and were not pushed.  The best news is that they are moving upwards and not sideways.  I am so happy for both of them.   I wish them all the best in their new roles. 

At the same time, their team’s “change process” is essentially over, and everyone knows where they stand and what they will be doing in 2025..  We don’t.  I feel like we are in the calm before the storm.  One of the ladies was explaining to me what a rollercoaster ride the process was for them and how the anxiety can take its toll on you.   I guess the new year is going to have a rough start for us, and we need to make sure we have a sound support system to help us through.  

Image created on Canva

Change is never a bad thing, even though it may seem like it in the moment.  I guess the important part is how we react to it.  We need to remember that we can adjust the sails to stay on our chosen course. 

Thanks for popping by.  What are you grateful for today?  Have you been through a similar experience?  How did you manage it? 

Bye for now.

A Month of Gratitude 2024: Day 16

Hello there.  How was the start to your week?  Mine was very peaceful.  My long weekend has come to an end, and I didn’t get much done.  I did rest, though, and I think that was the most important thing to get done.  

One Thing I am Grateful For

I didn’t get to see my sister today as planned, so I gave her a call instead, and we chatted for over an hour.  It was good to hear her voice. I am glad we took the time to catch up. 

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Reviewing and Renewing

I have spent this weekend reviewing the year that was and thinking through my 2025 goals.  As I have mentioned,  my word for 2025 will be “Wellness”, so I have been unpacking what that means for me and what success will look like. 

My word for 2024 is “Less”.  I am quite excited that I have managed to get a lot of physical decluttering done.  I will spend the last two weeks of the year improving my digital decluttering.  I store so much stuff that I will probably never use, and I suspect it is because I am often unclear about what I want to do or write about, so I store loads of information “just in case”. 

If you have not tried choosing a word for the year, I highly recommend it.  I find that it helps me stay intentional about how I live my life throughout the year, as the word I choose always hangs around in the back of my mind and gives me a gentle prod when I deviate from my intention.  Thus far, I have developed better digital systems for storing information at work because my 2022 intention was about productivity.  I am still working on one for home, and I am excited because I have finally found one that I like and can make work.  It always helps me feel like I can end the year feeling like I have made significant progress in at least one area of my life.   

That’s it from me today.  Thanks for popping by.  Do you have a word for the year?  How have you progressed towards achieving something towards it? 

Bye for now.