Today My Gratia is For...

MULTIPLICATION...yep it is true. To explain a little I have an extreme distaste for math. I have since pretty much the beginning of my education decades ago. I struggled and when it got harder of course I struggled more and more. I skimmed by in high school and  when my college days arrived I slugged through it. Despite my dislike I did graduate from college and said good bye to dreaded numbers, as much as I could.

Today though, I felt happy for my limited math ability. Our son is in third grade, starting multiplication. I, me, the math hater actually explained some of it to him. My husband, the engineer, will always be the go to guy, but today he was at work and I put on my math cap and stepped up to the plate. The knowledge came flooding back and for a brief moment I was happy that I drudged through the times tables and slapped them in my long term memory (never to be used again, so I thought). Granted our son is only on the threes in his learning of the times tables but I helped and damn it it felt good. The knowledge rolled off my tongue like prose. It may not be what some people would consider a triumph but it was to me. Thanks multiplication you made my day a little better.

 My Gratia today is for the little things in life...

 As I sit and write this today I am doing it with a bit of pain and self pity. I tore my AC joint in my shoulder on Sunday. It was a spectacular attempt at catching a hard hit softball by diving into the air and landing with a hard crunch on my shoulder. The really sad thing is I didn't even catch the ball! Now I sit with my arm in a sling and sad at missing the last of the season of softball action that I really do love. Life does that now and again, throws you, literally, a curve ball. I have been feeling sorry for myself the past couple of days and being in pain doesn't help. I decided today, though, that I need not act like this. Suck it up and feel proud I was playing hard enough to hurt myself.

After taking my kids to school today and having to explain for the umpteenth time what happened to me, and being irritated about it, I needed to find something to be grateful for. The first thing that caught my eye when I got home was our big red "hand chair." It is sitting outside on the deck where it was left after the big birthday bash we had for our son this past weekend. I smiled when I saw it, first time today, and thought that my shoulder felt a bit better. It reminded me of how wonderful my life is. How happy our son was on Saturday and that life is just fine right now, pain or no pain. So, I am stopping the pity train and getting off and enjoying the little things today and I know I will feel even better tomorrow for it.

My Gratia today is for the realization that I can be a real loser of a friend...

Sometimes we all need a reality check in realizing that everything isn't always about us. I had one of those this week and I am truly grateful for it. I needed to come out of a self obsessed world I have been in lately. I feel better to have found out how I was living. Thanks world for those great checks that we all need sometimes.

Oh, I am also grateful for the Bob Marley vinyl that I just bought. That made my day!

My Gratia today is for 12 jars of jam...

I finally got to the two flats of raspberrys that have been slowly starting to rot in my fridge. I bought them last week with the grand intention of canning many many jars of delicious jam for  my family to swoon over. Life and general laziness got in my way and finally today, with the drizzle of rain outside, I very reluctantly decided to take on the task. It will be tasty I know but the sour mood I am in today has made it a little less appealing. In the end it is done. A third of the expensive raspberrys made it to compost and I practically threw a fit like a three year old in the process but, it is done. I am thankful for having that task over with. The irritation of the entire process did remind me that life isn't always about inspiration and beauty but just getting shit done and I am thankful for it.

My Gratia today is for awareness and acceptance...

I seem to have a new heightened sense of awareness and acceptance. Awareness of who I am, what I am surrounded by and where I want to go. Acceptance in who I am, what I am surrounded by and where I want to go. I am grateful to my bones for this ability we all have to feel inspired by ourselves and love ourselves and become who we need to be.

My Gratia today is for the simple experience of living... 

After spending 5 days in the back country hiking with no modern distractions, the love of my life and two of the best friends anyone could ask for my perception of life has been to be rebooted. It is simply amazing what spending time immersed in nature for days and days and having to work my ass off to reach my goal does to my soul. I feel like a new person these days. Life is great!

Paintbrush Divide, Grand Tetons National Park

My Gratia today is for nine little kids...

I recently wrapped up a great season coaching little league T-Ball. Nine five and six year old kids who for the most part were very clueless about everything baseball related. I expected that, remembering playing when I was five with my mitt on my head most games. Even though they didn't know much It was so much fun coaching them and a fantastic distraction from all of the craziness that has been our lives. I avoided the thought of being a T-ball coach but when the rec center called and said they didn't have a coach for Wren's team I told them I would do it. I stewed over that decision knowing it was out of my comfort zone but I decided to roll with it, relax, and have fun. I did and I would do it again in a heart beat!