Gratitude

 Thanksgiving is only five days from now and I hope we are all spending time in gratitude for all that we have been given. There is so much to thank for that we should make a litany of all that we are grateful for each day. I find that the more grateful I am, the happier I am as gratitude and joy seem to go together. Some people are naturally grateful, I think; others need to cultivate gratefulness.

I am grateful each morning that I wake up and can get up, take a hot shower, put on clean clothes and just sit in my comfortable chair and say: "Thank you, God, for another day." Then I am always grateful that I can walk over to the Oakwood dining room and have a delicious, hot breakfast served to me. I am grateful for the Sisters who join me as we usually sit at tables for four. Then there is time for prayer before our 9:00 Liturgy.  I am really grateful for this daily Mass and the opportunity to give Holy Communion to those of my sisters who cannot walk up to receive Communion from the priest. The day's schedule is read after Mass; although I do not participate in many of the varied activities, we are always able to join whatever is planned for the day. I usually spend the morning at my desk either on a zoom or answering email and letters or maybe just sitting in my chair and reading. We have our main meal at 11:30 and again I am grateful for our wonderful kitchen staff, the nurse assistants who serve us, the flowers on the tables, etc. We are spoiled! And so the day contiues with a walk with one, an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, sometimes a movie or just time to read before five o'clock supper followed by prayer in Westwood with all my community there plus two who join us. We usually have some good conversation together after prayer and then some watch television but I will go read but during prayer there is silent time to reflect on the day and that increases my gratitude.

I did not mean to write all this, but sometimes it helps to just go through an ordinary day and be grateful for all we have,