Opening my gratitude diary

Kathleen Anderson

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and, as is my habit, my thoughts turn to things for which I am grateful. I keep a daily diary of things I am grateful for throughout the year, but today, I expanded upon those things.

I started keeping the diary years ago. I find that when I am faithful with acknowledging my gratitude, my day starts and ends more smoothly. It helps me put aside minor irritants and concentrate on the things going right in my world.

Some things I am grateful for are small, and some are large. Some are constant, and some surprise even me. Some of the best are memories …

Like the year my daughter, son-in-law and I were living in Round Rock, Texas, and we joined our fellow Rotarians serving up meals to be delivered to frail elderly homebound residents in our community. Or the pleasure we felt delivering Christmas gifts to an orphanage our club had adopted.

Or the umpteen times we all watched the Princess Bride movie and cracked each other up for days afterward with our favorite phrase, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.”

Since moving here, we have purchased our chickens from Eastside Urban Farm and Garden Center. The sex of baby chicks cannot be identified so there has always been the chance we brought home six roosters instead of six hens when all is said and done.

Luckily, this has never happened, but this time, we did get one rooster. At first, we were a little dismayed by this discovery, but as he grew big and beautiful we became enchanted with him. A small thing perhaps, but one that has enhanced our mornings.

I have made many new friends since arriving here in 2018 and enjoyed getting to know them, but thanks to the internet, I have also been able to keep in touch with high school friends, former employers, co-workers, and lifelong friends. This has been a real treasure and brought me a lot of joy over the years along with some sadness.

For the past four years I have written this weekly column for The JOLT, which has expanded my world. I have met fascinating people, learned about the history of my new home, and heard stories that uplifted and inspired me.

I have found I can do things I had never faced before, like planning for snow and wind storms, thankfully advised of by our weather forecasters.

I have had some health issues to deal with that have been resolved and I find I am not only grateful for the healing but for the new confidence and inner strength I didn’t know existed within me.

I love the pastoral setting my home is surrounded by; my magnificent trees, lush greenery, and berry bushes that my brown thumb has failed to discourage.

I am thankful my family ignored my declarations of “never again” after losing two beloved pets and gifted me with my Bella Rose, the smartest dog in my world.

I am grateful for all the wonderful bakeries, restaurants, and cafes I have discovered and enjoyed here, not to mention the best farmers market I have ever visited. I love the fun shops in downtown Olympia that cater to the quirky members of our communities, as well as all the great thrift and mom-and-pop shops that offer us handmade items and other hard-to-find treasures.

I am grateful to the publisher of The JOLT for allowing me to share my ramblings with you every week. Take my word for it; he is a very patient man.

I am grateful, most of all, for my family. From the older ones who house and support me during my rough times, to the little ones who make me laugh out loud.

I do know how lucky I am. At 80, I am very much aware not everyone in our beautiful communities shares my luck.

I worry a lot about our homeless neighbors, especially during the colder months, about the animal shelters that are overflowing, and the possibility of yet another war, things I cannot do anything to correct by myself. 

But I do believe that together, we can accomplish anything. So, I will trust the scientists to find cures for diseases, our communities to work together to solve our problems and our children to create a better world for those who follow.

May your Thanksgiving Day be as full as mine.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comments.