Make Your Own Sunshine!

Yesterday, a feeling of utter discouragement gripped my heart for a few split seconds.

After jumping out of bed, I rolled the window shades up to the middle of each window and peered out. White snowflakes came dancing down from the sky.

"Oh NOOOOOOO," I wailed. "No more freaking snow." Unfortunately, the snowflakes didn't pay the least bit attention to my lament and just kept falling down from the heavens.

"Gratitude," I heard myself say. "Concentrate on gratitude." That's my anecdote to negative thoughts. When one comes into my brain, I counteract it with something to be grateful for. Most of the time it's an extremely effective method of preventing the blues from sticking around.

So, becoming cognizant of the importance of gratitude, I started thinking of things such as my delicious strong morning coffee. Mmmmmm, it always tasted just great, accompanied by two slices of stone ground wheat toast with extra crunchy peanut butter and a tablespoon of honey. Teddie peanut butter is the only brand I use because it has no sugar or other additives in it and is quite delicious. It's made from only peanuts and salt. (Just found out it's manufactured in Georgia!) Certainly, I had a lot to be grateful for.

Then, used some money from a recent anniversary gift to go out and have my hair done and eyebrows waxed. Both of these are rather decadent pleasures for me which brought a heap of gratitude.
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On to Michael's Craft Store where I found wide weather-resistant ribbons, beige and pink, which would match the huge, fat cabbage roses on the spring wreath I made for the front door. Luckily, came across some cobalt blue vases in three different shapes. At $1.99 each, they were a "ganga" so I bought one of each. Also picked up a stem of silk daffodils. Unless you grab and smell them, you cannot tell they are fake and since the real "daffodillies" are still under the frozen ground, these would have to do.

Then, on to one of my dear sisters' houses. She is a true crafty critter and made a gorgeous bow with long streamers from the ribbons. I was very grateful for that and couldn't wait to go home to put them on the wreath. Once I did, my heart pretty much filled with gratitude.

I washed the new vases to get the stickers off the bottoms. My husband clipped the daffodils apart for me with the wire cutters and I placed them in the new vases. Onto one kitchen window sill they went. They look adorable!

So, being grateful quickly dispelled the day's initial doom and gloom. By the time evening came, my heart brimmed over with all the gifts of the day. It felt so good to be alive, in good health, and to have so many things to be grateful for.

Sometimes, we just have to make our own sunshine! It's easy to make when you add a huge helping of gratitude for the things and experiences you already have!

HOW DO YOU DISPEL THE WINTER BLUES?