As I think about the year that is past and the one that lies ahead, the word that keeps recurring is grateful.
I’ve always been a glass-half-empty kind of girl, prone to melodrama, self-pity, and anxiety. (Does that sound melodramatic? she wondered anxiously…)
Sometime in the past few years, though, something shifted. My daughter has taken over the role of drama queen, for one thing. And though I still struggle with anxiety and have to battle self-pity something fierce some days, on the whole my vision of my life is that it is a huge gift, and it is filled with all manner of smaller gifts, the daily graces and mercies that I spent over 30 years completely missing.
Somehow, my eyes have been opened, and I have begun to see all these gifts, large and small, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
My friend Susan Forshey wrote a blog post recently in which she announced her intention to join Ann Voscamp’s Gratitude Community and create a list of one thousand things she’s grateful for.
Well, I’m never one to let Susan outdo me (uh, except she’s a dissertation away from a PhD, and I don’t even have a master’s degree, but other than that…). So I’m joining the fray, er, fun.
On the first Friday of each month, I’ll post part of my own list for that month (don’t worry; I’ll limit myself to no more than 20 items, most of which will be reading or writing related, so y’all won’t have to slog through pages of Kimberlee’s Private Minutiae) until I work my way up to 1000 things. And since today is the first Friday of the month, here are a few of the gifts I’ve noticed in the past days:
5. Sunshine on these shortest darkest days of the year
6. Beautifully illustrated books to read aloud to the kids
8. The beautiful words of Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott”
13. The way Jane says “tajamas” instead of “pajamas”
17. My husband has a good job that pays well enough for me to stay home with the kids and fiddle around with words.
20. A built-in dishwasher!
23. Moleskine journals
24. My fountain pen
25. My Macbook
31. A heated house
32. Indoor plumbing
34. The art and poetry of Lilias Trotter
36. Psalm 139, especially verse 18: “When I wake up, I am present with Thee.”
46. A great conversation with my sister: she made me laugh so hard I couldn’t talk.
48. A cup of hot tea with honey
51. Books I’m excited to read are on hold at the library.
57. Watching Jane’s face as I told her my versions of “The Three Little Pigs,” “St. George and the Dragon,” and “Sleeping Beauty” – she was mesmerized, and I felt like a rock star.
59. The beautiful writing in The House Above the Trees by Ethel Cook Eliot
If you’d like to start your own list, I’d love your company. Just pick up a pen and paper (or if you’re a techie, open Evernote or a blank Word doc) and start writing – I’m numbering my list, so I know when I get to a thousand, but that’s optional – and please let me know! I’d love to hear what you notice and are grateful for.
Here’s to a glad new year. May we see it unfold with eyes wide open.

Yay! Thank you for sharing these, Kimberlee, I’ll look forward to your first Friday posts! I can just imagine Jane saying “tajamas.”
love this idea!!! I definately need constant reminders of how truely wonderful life is with all its messy glory.
I have kept a journal for the past 10 years. It is full of one line entries about random moments in my life where my heart was overflowing. There must be several thousand entries!!! I also have jars upon jars of rocks and shells with little notes scrawled across them reminding me of yet more moments. For me, I need constant reminders that I have so much to be thankful for (which is also why my beloved books are in the main room — front and center). On days when I am feeling low, I just grab a handful of rocks and remember.
Someday, I will remember to spell check before posting my reply.
Oi, I don’t think I will ever learn how to spell some words correctly. At least it is not as bad as “JT was hear” or worse yet…. “hey bube, I love qual.”
Today, I am grateful to have a brilliant sister — one who has overlooked my horrible spelling skills these past 25 years. And as for the mistakes she couldn’t overlook, well…. those were turned them into the stuff of legends. *wink*