Day 21: Road Trip Gratitude

I’ve been on a road trip for the past week. Keeping up with these microblogs has been an experiment in creative planning. Some days have been more successful than others.

One of the gifts of this stage of life I am in is that I mostly create a schedule that works for me. I like my mornings quiet and unhurried. If I can avoid morning commitments, I do. It hasn’t always been possible this past week.

Laying in bed last night, I started to think about how much I love about this stage of life. Here are three that have surfaced during this road trip.

1. The depth of friendship that only comes after years of knowing each other. I’ve often thought my friend I am travelling with and I behave like two old married people (and we are but not to each other!). It’s a friendship that has developed because we really know each other and we can say what we want without fear of judgement.

2. A level of self-care that comes out of a recognition that I need to honour my body and listen to it. I still probably push myself too hard at times, but I find it much easier to announce at 9 p.m. that I need to retire for the evening. As a recovering people-pleaser, I often found it hard to say what I needed. I find it much easier these days.

3. An increasing sense of contentment. I find a sense of gratitude that seems present and aware of all the gifts of life. The sun is rising here on the farm and I am watching the light shift in the sky. I slept really well last night. I’m sipping on peppermint tea in bed writing. All these small moments carry so much more weight for me than they once did.

Life is good and I’m grateful for this road trip. And I am happy to be in my own bed tonight with my cat at my feet.