Practicing gratitude…

It is Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend. I really don’t think much about this holiday: Irene asked if we were making a special meal, and we agreed to order pizza later and save the big dinner thing for Christmas.

But I do often think about being grateful for what I have. I haven’t made a commitment yet to practicing daily gratitude or anything quite so progressive, but I do feel that making an effort to account for the benefits I receive in life is worth while. In that vein, here are a few things I’m grateful for at this point in 2024.

Things I’m thankful for in 2024

• A comfortable home: We have a lovely home with nice places to relax both outdoors and indoors. It sits on 2.5 acres so we can enjoy our privacy, but we also have some great neighbours. There are lots of things we want to improve, but overall we are very happy here
• The beauty of the Kootenays: Moving from the Lower Mainland to Castlegar in the West Kootenay region has been a good decision. The reduction in stress from living a more rural life is a significant benefit. More important, though, is that I’m surrounded by mountains, trees, lakes, and rivers that I have a seemingly ‘spiritual’ connection with
• Irene’s health: It has been a tough couple of years dealing with Irene’s cancer. But she is doing well and the treatments have been as effective as can be: she is out riding her horse regularly and enjoying life.
• Riding my motorcycle: I have been able to get out a bit on my motorbike this past year, I suspect riding more this year than I have since 2019. I’ve also been able to fix (replace) my bike’s tour pack, which was a long-delayed task
• Retirement: I retired this year after 30 years at IBM and over 40 years of full-time work. I am incredibly lucky that to have been able to do this, and it has meant being able to spend more time with Irene
• Visits with family: We’ve had several nice visits with family and friends this year. We drove out to the lower mainland and saw folks there in June. And I made it to Edmonton on my motorbike in September to visit people there. I often regret being so far away from some of the people I love, but this year at least we had a few good ‘face to face’ moments with them
• Our critters: we have four wonderful cats and a slightly crazy dog who basically run the house. They bring a lot of joy and comfort to both Irene and me
• Blogging: I’ve had fun bringing life back to my blogging hobby. I credit most of my progress to my participation in Blaugust 2024 which helped me overcome a lot of negative inertia. I’ve spun off some of my content into two new blogs: Geek on a Harley for motorcycle stuff, and Words of the AgingGamer for gaming posts, a change which I find makes it easier for me to write. And I’ve continued to post at least a few times a month in each of the blogs: hopefully I can maintain some momentum

I am grateful for all of these things and many more. Hopefully anyone reading this can find their own good things to balance out the challenges their lives throw at them.