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… Read Full Post