{ spending hiatus - month 4: week 3 - the grateful edition }

Trying to find that balance between enjoying life, sharing with the community, getting back into a routine and meeting our financial goals by year-end is what I am thinking about this week....

One of my favorite lines in my favorite book (other than the Twilight books that is), Eat Pray Love, is at the end of Part Two when, after spending four months at an Ashram in India, Elizabeth shares two poems that she's written - the first at the beginning of her stay at the ashram, when she was struggling, and the second one written her last day there after she had found peace and happiness within herself. She writes, "In the the space between the two poems, I have found acres of grace." Acres of grace. I love that.

Last week we had to cancel our last event of the race season due to a super low turnout...We began to get pretty stressed about this as we've never had to do this before but we acknowledged that it was partially out of our control due to the current economic situation. And then we reminded ourselves how lucky we are...we have 3 businesses that are making money, that allow us to work from home with the kids and we have a warm and loving home over our heads.

We reminded ourselves of all of the stories of true suffering in our community, in our country, in our world. I do not wish to diminish or ignore problems of this magnitude. Problems like this remind me that in the midst of trying to spend more wisely, meet out grocery budget with wholesome, organic food and achieve certain financial goals, I don’t want to lose sight of things that are even more important...Our health, a roof over our heads and the fact that we have each other. To this end I am grateful for our abundance and will continue to share it with our community. {Sam & I are going to the food bank this week with a truck full of donations and we dropped off additional items (clothes, books & toys) at the woman's shelter and local school. While she is starting to get the "lessons" on saving, its equally important to reiterate the lessons on "giving and sharing". }

I find myself thinking in terms of acres of gratitude this week...I have so much to be grateful for - happy, healthy children; a loving, kind husband; wonderful parents who I get to see often; Sam's contagious giggle; Henry learning to blow kisses, Sam and Henry's birthparents who chose us; my grandparents who are still alive and able to get to know my children; wonderful friends who are supportive and loving; my health and being cancer free for 8 years; our warm & welcoming home; the men & woman working to protect us everyday against the evil in the world; and the affection of our dirty, but adorable golden retriever.

And because this IS a brain blog....Ellen Weber points out some ways gratitude transforms the human brain in Two Words Can Transform a Workplace. She writes: "Interestingly, the art and science of gratitude grows easier the more you practice it."

Oh, and there was no unnecessary spending this week (other than kickboxing classes which is now considered a necessity!) - in fact we were gifted with a huge bag of peaches from a dear friend and a huge box of hand me down clothes for Henry. {We are grateful - Thank you Liv.}

What are you grateful for, even in times of less?