06/29/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 313

A nice trip to the bank this morning — I love the people who work there. We always ask about each other’s lives and tell each other such funny stories. Makes for such a pleasant errand!

Funny weather today — rain and thunder in fits and starts. I love how changeable it is some days.

All the wisdom and encouraging words I’ve gotten from my dear friends over the years … and how they come floating into my head in times of stress, helping to keep a little sense of balance, comfort, okayness.

My kids. They are such interesting, insightful, funny, caring house mates. 😉

06/25/201506/25/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 309

Another stunningly beautiful day, weather-wise. All these hours of sunshine are bliss to me!

Looking forward to more Ruby time today. Spending time with her fills my little heart right up!

The sweet interplay between Pam and me as we continue our appreciating in our daily, public way. I know there are days that I’ve been in a “mood” and have felt at loss for what I might appreciate… and so often on those days, re-reading Pam’s choices remind me of all the good things in my life that I’m just not (at that moment) noticing. How thrilling and wonderful to have such a bright, articulate, funny, dedicated friend going along for this ride! ❤

Taking a page from one of Pam’s recent entries, here’s a recap and commentary on this process: I’ve now written over 1,000 of these appreciations. There have been a lot of intense and challenging experiences along the way and I can’t even describe how grateful I am that I already had this practice in place when they came up. (Bwahahaha – I’m so grateful for my gratitude practice. So meta!)

Teaching my brain to go and look for what is pleasing about every day has helped me notice friendly, funny nurses, sweet and compassionate traffic cops, truly caring vets, and the deeply supportive, generous, patient, beautiful people I am lucky to call my friends. These people made all the hospital stays and recoveries, the grief from losing pets, the challenges of bill-paying and the days of not having enough energy to get out of bed SO. MUCH. BETTER. And though I do still have anxious days and frustrated days, mostly I am just aware that my life is an incredible gift filled with brilliant people and experiences. YOU are one of the people for whom I am profoundly, utterly, deeply appreciate and whom I dearly love. ❤ (No, don’t look around, I do mean YOU!)

What’s even more fun is that this practice has made the tough times seem not so bad, but it has also made the good times unbelievably fun! I laugh more, smile more, and truly savor those blissful moments — and then relive them in these posts and in retelling the stories — so I get double (or triple or quadruple…) the joy from each of those delightful experiences. What a gift! 😀

And finally, this practice has helped me to truly understand how deeply and completely I love coffee. 😉

06/10/201506/10/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 294

Perfectly perfect weather for my first “I’m not walking to get somewhere, I’m walking just to walk” walk in a long time! What bliss.

The unbelievably yummy sights and scents provided by the gardens in my neighborhood – especially this year since I’ve not had the time and energy to tend to my own. Thanks, neighbors! ❤

The way tiny little details can be so incredibly pleasing, like the little wind-chime-y sound of my earrings in the wind as I walked. Sweet.

My funny, charming, clever, ambitious, talented, enchanting friends who light up my life, make the world a fascinating place, and, uh, make a little time dinging around on facebook completely worthwhile. 😉

05/31/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year 3: Day 284

Interesting conversations and walking in gorgeous weather
Rehearsing for super-fun shows
Napping

05/22/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 275

Photoshop Elements and the fun of playing and learning. 😀

Coconut, which shows up in a lot of my gluten-free and dairy-free foods — and which is truly delicious.

Sunny warm weather, perfect for walks and working on the yard!

05/06/201505/06/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 259

This amazing bundle of notes from Leah’s Girl Scout Troop! Oh what fun to be fairy to them all. Sweet!

Last night’s terrific (nobody says terrific anymore. Why is that?) first show for the Improv Happy Hour. Well done, y’all.

Looking forward to another marvelous (people don’t really use marvelous much these days. I wonder why.) JimmyD class tonight.

Parentheses, my parents, well-written theses, the heady smell of lilacs, last night’s oh-so-sensational petrichor (because it didn’t look at all strange for me to stand outside my house sniffing the air at 10 pm), chlorophyll, philodendrons, dromedaries, derring do, doo-wop ditties, kitties, tee shots that soar high into the sky and land on the fairway (I mean, in theory. Not sure I’ve ever experienced something like that…).

05/05/201505/05/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 258

Going walkies in my neighborhood and being greeted by flowering trees that stretch down over the sidewalk to say hello.

Calling walks “going walkies” like Pam does. Her way with words always delights me!

Productive day in between morning walk and evening walk.

Beautiful weather, flowers, greenifying, sunshine, city.

Nice little visit with my dad.

Daydreaming about what cool classes I’ll take when I have a little more time: swing dance, archery, positive psychology, drawing, painting, graphic design, tai chi, qi gong, and certainly lots more I haven’t even thought of. So much good stuff to learn!

Jill for so many reasons, not the least of which is her regular posting of funny, thought-provoking, and delightful things on FB. So many smiles, so much silliness, mucha diversión!

Butterflies, butter, Buster Keaton, bells, birds, lyrebirds.

05/04/2015 DianaK