Gratitude Journal 5.24 II

Can you tell I'm a dog person?

I’m grateful for…

5/15: the privileged sight of watching a dog flop onto the grass below its owner’s feet. Oh to be a dog! In the summer! Rolling around in the grass! This feels like the American Dream.

5/16: the childlike I-can’t-sleep-the-night-before-because-I’m-so-excited-for-the-next day feeling.

5/17: there’s something about a dog’s tail wagging that is like an IV full of serotonin connected to my heart. I want to wag my nonexistent-tail in solidarity.

5/18: when worlds collide but it is magical and sparkly and vibrant. Evidence of my worlds colliding:

5/19: a mid-morning nap with the sun shining in through the window, warming your resting soul.

5/20: the most amazing array of seafood at a new restaurant Cameron and I tried out and this fun blinded-by-the-sun selfie:

5/21: a slow morning catching up on emails and messages from a weekend spent intentionally away from my phone.

5/22: the hardest goodbyes can sometimes be the most revelatory.

5/23: Bibliosmia—the aroma of books caused by the breakdown of paper particles when exposed to light, water, and heat.

5/24: the rhythm of feet pounding the pavement, sweat dripping down my back, face red with heat during an exerting summer-run. It feels almost cathartic, as if the pace of my body—swinging, leaping, harmonious—matches the beat of my heart.

5/25: turning to mentors and long-revered authors to aid in my faith discernment.

5/26: the loveliest evening filled with laughter, wine, and belonging with new and old friends.

5/27: Brené Brown’s newest podcast series: Living Beyond Human Scale. I have only listened to a few of the episodes in the series, though I’ve been challenged extensively already. They are tough listens—ones that might leave you feeling a touch of dread or reconsidering your complicity—though they provide an interesting lens in which to view the future.

5/28: little inside jokes with loved ones that make laughter bubble up involuntarily.

5/29: Liz Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things, which was dense and verbose, yet left me speechless by the end.

5/30: writing! writing! more writing! ever grateful for this thing I get to do, most especially on sunny days when I can sit outside with the dogs, laptop in lap.

5/31: my paint-by-numbers set which I have been diligently working on while home with Grey’s Anatomy in the background.

Until next time,

Kiera