30 Days of Thanksvember - Days 14, 15, 16

I'm behind again in posting! Fortunately, I've been writing down my daily gratitude in my diary, so I didn't really miss a day ;)


Day 14 - I am thankful for laughter. It can hold depression at bay. It can chase away anger or tears. It can heal.

What else can it do?

- Lower blood pressure
- Reduce some stress hormones, such as cortisol
- Improve alertness, memory, and creativity
- Increase the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells
- Helps the pituitary gland release its own pain-suppressing opiates.
- Eases anxiety and fear

So yeah, laughter is wonderful. Our house is full of it and it's an integral part of our sunny atmosphere, part of what makes each of us so glad to get home after a long day. Trevor is a goof and will do or say something or pull some crazy facial expression that can get me rolling around in hapless giggles until my eyes are streaming. I am so thankful for that.


Day 15 - I am thankful for grey, rainy days.

Yes, really!

Nothing boosts my creativity and cozy level more than a dark day or evening with rain gently tapping on the windows. I'm more inclined to make a heartier dinner. I feel my writer's block and artist's block vanish. I can concentrate on a good book while drinking hot tea or coffee. Yep, I just feel so good and happy! I can't explain it, but hey, I'm not complaining!



Day 16 - I am thankful for bird song.

Now that we're in the middle of November, I don't hear much bird song anymore. It's usually silence, unless a cold breeze is whispering through naked branches, or if it's a sunny afternoon and a flock of little brown birds have gathered to chatter. But in spring and early summer? It's a sweet symphony that makes my heart soar and brings peace to my soul.

To me, there's hardly anything that sounds more beautiful in this world than robins singing on a spring evening, or a loon's mournful cry on a lake. These sounds are ancient and sacred, and I am thankful to be able to hear them.