What I’m FOR today
by Elouise
Here’s my short-version report about my health and wellbeing. I am alive; I am reasonably happy most days; I am unreasonably crabby at night when I can’t sleep so well; I have several unresolved health issues upon which I will not dwell at this time. I am, however, Alive! And coming up on my 79th birthday.
I first posted this piece in August 2018. Just looking at this photo, reminiscent of my childhood home in Georgia, makes me happy, though not equally happy for every day of my life. I pray this finds you reasonably at peace with yourself.
~~~
There’s so much going wrong today that I decided to make a roll call of what I’m FOR on this remarkable day. Remarkable because I lived to witness it! Including, in my past, the Vernon River, and dock-life when I was growing up. Plus at least the following other items for which I’m grateful:
- this beautiful world in places increasingly touched by human tragedy
- family members more distant in miles than ever, yet close to my heart
- churches standing up to tough challenges without capitulating to visions of grandeur, glory or isolation
- real places that offered me refuge and peace when I needed solitude and reassurance that my life matters
- our son who lives reasonably nearby, and reminds me why I risked everything with my parents on the eve of my 50th birthday
- our daughter who lives on the other side of the USA yet is present to me in ways I was never present to my mother
- the Carolina Wren, Chickadees and Cardinals singing and chirping, plus the small ground squirrel who sits on our back yard wall surveying his spacious kingdom
- courageous women, men and children who speak out and work for a better world for all of us
- my neighbors: Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Protestant, or Nothing at All who greet me, invite me into conversation, groan and smile with me, and sometimes offer me tea
- my dear husband whom I sometimes thought might be the wrong man for me, yet has become precious beyond words
- my local church with its challenging mix of cultures, ethnicity, political persuasions, youth and decrepitude
- days of such unexpected delight that I don’t want them to end, yet can let go because I love my water-bed and the partner swimming in it with me
- my body and the way it’s leading me deeper into and out of myself in these early days of autumn
And of course, I’m for you, my wonderful readers–an invisible family loosely held together somewhere out there beyond our control.
Elouise♥
©Elouise Renich Fraser, 22 August 2018; lightly edited and reposted 15 November 2022
Photo found at pinterest.com
Thank you for writing this, Elouise. I hope it was an uplifting exercise for you.
Marilyn
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Yes…just reading it reminds me of how much I have despite the other stuff! 🙏🏻
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❤️ (((HUGS))) and prayers for you!!! 🙂
This is a wonderful list! I, too, am grateful for (and FOR) so many of these exact things in my life! 🙂
I am grateful for you, SweetElouise! I hope your soon-birthday is a beautiful day! 🙂
Let’s keep focusing on the positives…focus on our strengths! 🙂
PS… “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
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Thank you from the top and bottom of my heart! 💕🙏🏻 I love the quote from The Little Prince! A favorite from way back. 😊
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Taking the time to be grateful really does wonders for the soul. What a nice list you have here. And it’s so cool you have a water bed. Thanks for spreading positivity in the blogosphere!
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Thank you for your kind comment! The water-bed bug bit us in the 1980s, and we haven’t looked back once. 🙂
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What a lovely post, Elouise, thank you! ♥ I’m pleased that you are on the cusp of your 79th birthday, and that you feel you have *arrived* at a more peaceful place. Bless you!
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Thank you, Fran! It’s strange, isn’t it? All that hard work called “growing up” just keeps landing in my lap. I used to think a time would come when I had ‘arrived.’ Still, happiness matters! For which I’m most grateful. Hugs across the pond! 🙂
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You too, Elouise, and happy Thanksgiving! 😀 😀 We can all do with a little cheer at this time of year. Xxx
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