I was born on Thanksgiving, which, in the United States, always falls on a Thursday. Somehow this makes every Thursday feel like my lucky day; and also a reminder in my week to practice gratitude.

Last fall, while every fiber of my being tried to acclimate to living back in this country after so many years of living in Thailand,  I hit a round of “mean reds” (à la Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s). And by mean, I mean mean. Not just the kind that come for a day or two and pass, but the ones that linger for days, weeks, months on end.

I felt like no one could relate to anything that I had experienced during the past ten years of my life. Traffic and sidewalks felt too tidy. Storefronts felt too sterile. My body didn’t know what to do with the different foods, different climate,  different clothes, or the fact that everyone in this town has white skin and speaks English.  I was trading papaya for quinoa, a Honda Wave motorbike for a Ford Focus sedan, flip flops for moccassins. None of these are bad things, necessarily, just different.  Very, very different.

One of the main things that helped me through was a nightly gratitude list of at least five things. Even if all that I could think of to put on that list were the bare basics: “I’m breathing,” “The sun felt good on my face this afternoon.”

No matter how high, how low, or how in-between things are, there are always things to be grateful for. And, somehow, that always helps me to put things back where they need to be–in perspective. 

So, while it’s past my bedtime on this Thursday evening, here’s my list:

1. It’s 11:11 right now. I love that this reminds me of being a carefree teenager. So, like I did then, I’m making a wish. For all of us.

2. My dad fell yesterday and broke three ribs and punctured a lung. He’s in the hospital now and in a lot of pain. I am grateful that he is OK; and that I had the chance to call him, hear his voice, and say, “I love you.” I’m grateful for the friends who have sent their love and prayers.

3. A great yoga class with Norman Allard at Studio Be today where I felt my breath reach all the way up into my top ribs and lungs. So refreshing.

4. Hot yam & poblano soup at Whole Foods for lunch. 

5. Lavender-scented bubble bath, followed by flannel PJ’s, and burrowing in my princess bed on a rare cold, damp, misty night in Boulder.

What’s your list?

Sweet dreams….

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