A Year in Gratitude

Melvin in Thanksgiving Scarf
November 22, 2013

December 21 will mark the first anniversary of my move to the cabin. It seems to have flown and dragged, all at the same time. When I look back, it seems like just a flash, but when I was actually living it, time certainly did not always seem to zip by. This past year or so, from the time I was laid off in mid-2012 to now, has been a soulful mix of joy and loss, loneliness and blissful solitude, and some serious fear that occasionally turned to courage. Life presents us with challenges, and we get to see what we are made of.

Last September (2012) I began a daily practice of gratitude; it helped me stay in the moment and not worry about the future. Soon I started using my iPhone to capture these moments of beauty. I posted some of my gratitude photos to Instagram and shared a few favorites here on this blog. It's fun to look back through those snapshots in gratitude. When I noticed they always left me smiling, I decided to compile my favorite ones into a picture book that I am calling A Year in Gratitude. The book is filled with lots of pictures of Melvin, my sister's dog: Buckshot, the Stelten boys, trees, flowers, wide open spaces, the cabin, and other beautiful places and things. You can view a copy below; view in full screen for best result.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Benny: A Very Good Boy

Image
Benny came to me on October 17, 2015, from Southeast Corgi Rescue (SECR), with an estimated age of 8-10 years. He passed on March 1, 2024.   Benny had been slowing down for a while – to be expected at 16-plus years old. Until mid-January, his appetite was strong; his mobility had declined some but remained sufficient. He slept a lot, ate well, and enjoyed his life. I bought a ranch-style house for us in 2022 when we moved from Atlanta to Athens. It was the perfect house for Benny. He thrived here, and it was easier for me too because he needed only occasional assistance getting around. My Atlanta condo was up a flight of stairs, and Benny could no longer handle those stairs. By the time I sold the condo, I was carrying him up and down several times a day. It was hard on both of us, so we were happy to be in a house that suited us better.   In early January this year, we made our last trip to Jekyll Island. I wondered if it would be his last, but hoped he had another one in hi...
Read more

Melvin Got His Wings

Image
June 29, 2015 I said goodbye to dear Melvin yesterday, on his 16th birthday. A noticeable decline began last week while we were in Atlanta and continued through the weekend. By Sunday night I knew it was likely time to let him go. Monday morning confirmed my fears. How perfect that perfect-Melvin should leave this world on the same day he entered it. We spent the day together. In the morning we sat on the porch of the cabin. He mostly slept while I looked through the hundreds of pictures I've taken of him through the years. In the afternoon we visited my mom, my sister, and all his dog friends. I adopted Melvin when he was a year old. Fifteen years he's been with me. He was with me when I turned 40, then 50. He was with me when I bought the land and the first time I camped on it. He was with me for every construction weekend while we built the cabin. He walked the path to Mama's house countless times. He was a great traveler and made the transition between country lif...
Read more

Benny, The Rescue

Image
I first saw a picture of Benny–then called Mendell–on the Carolina Corgi Rescue FaceBook page on July 16, 2015. I felt an immediate connection with the sweet puppy staring back at me, but it was too soon. Melvin had just passed away on June 29 , and Mendell was clearly a senior dog with some health issues. So I looked away. I thought of him over the coming days, but each time I put him out of my mind. When the time is right, the right dog will come along, I told myself. I spent the rest of the summer missing Melvin and trying to enjoy my new freedom. Melvin had required extra attention the last year or so of his life, so why not take a break from the responsibility? It’s so much easier and less expensive to live life without a dog. No more vet bills. No more carrying Melvin up and down stairs that he could no longer navigate. No more planning my day and week around my geriatric dog. Yes, that made so much sense. But my heart ached. I missed Melvin. By mid-September I decided to...
Read more