Wrangler Dani

Prompt: Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

This is a good one for me, because here’s the truth: I don’t appreciate anything nearly as much as I should. More often than not I become paralyzed in a lack of appreciation, a desperate wishing and striving for other things, more things, success, happiness, whatever I imagine is out of my reach. A certain amount of discontentment can be motivating and healthy, but it needs to be tempered with appreciation, gratitude and joy.

So, without further ado, I’m going to appreciate my own socks off with a list of things that I love and am thankful for, even though sometimes I forget to say so:

• My hubby. Of course. He’s my hero, my love, my sensible strong man and my source of stabilizing wisdom. He’s kind, funny, a great leader, a hard worker, a dedicated servant, a follower of Jesus, a spoiler of me and a great friend. How did I ever get so lucky?
• Our family. The cool thing about getting married is that you get double the love. (and presents! don’t forget presents!) We have incredible, welcoming, loving and fun family on both sides. (Fun is the key word there. I’m related to some very fun people.)
• Our friends. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all of our friends. “I don’t have time to hang out with everybody!” I gripe. What a sour-puss I can be. We have so many friends that we get busy just seeing them all. Wowza! Can you believe it?! Again, how did we get so lucky? (Also, we have friends in various states as well. Never a lonely moment!)
• Our church and faith. We floated for a while before finding our church, and we can’t believe the cool community we’ve discovered. I tend to get overwhelmed (shocker!) with the responsibility put on me by being in community and serving, but it is something to be grateful for and not something to shy away from. The last few months have been amazing, and the community at our church is high on my thankful list.
• Our jobs. Adam and I both have jobs we love and an income we can afford to live on. Can I get a hallelujah?
• The little things. Sprinkles in hot cocoa, nights at home with my honey, fuzzy socks, beautiful sunsets, early morning kayaking expeditions, smiles on little faces when they mount their horses, wildflowers in the spring, lazy afternoons on the beach, laughter with friends, long phone calls with family, Adam’s killer Whiskey sours just for me, samples at Costco, happy hour, the Sing-Off, long hikes and holding hands in the car.

What a life I have.