Practicing gratitude gets easier the more i do it, but that doesn't mean it's always super easy. This week has left me tired and a little sore, which has made me slow down and focus on my physical self. It has made me realize i am grateful for even this very imperfect body.
Since i have two mild heart conditions that together can sap my energy, i am thankful that my heart is basically healthy and i can exercise and work and get a lot done in a day. Also my blood pressure has stayed low (i've had mine measure 97/50 while i was standing up).
The pneumonia seven years ago has left me with scars on my lungs, so i am grateful that even with that i have mostly normal lung function and capacity.
My low thyroid requires a daily pill that makes my blood levels normal but does nothing to alleviate the low thyroid symptoms. As i take my daily dose, i am grateful that it's the only medication i have to take.
When my hands started to swell and have odd sores on them a few years back, then the cat bite on my hand landed me in the hospital, i gained a whole new appreciation for my hands, especially the fact that i can touch type.
Being vertically challenged i have decided can be a good thing. It has made me learn to climb and balance, and i'm grateful i am not afraid of ladders when cleaning high mirrors or windows, i can get on the roof to clean gutters, and i've been known to climb grocery shelves to get what i need.
Back in drivers ed (when we still drove Flintstone cars), i learned i was nearsighted. When i got to the age where you start becoming farsighted, my nearsightedness and farsightedness cancelled each other out! My left eye is good enough for me to drive with no glasses needed now, and i'm grateful, but i wear a very light prescription for driving anyway because i always have worn them and it is a habit.
Every year i have a hearing test, and i'm thankful i never listened to super loud music and i generally protected my ears. My hearing is better than normal for my age.
By the time many people get to mid-life, they begin to have digestive problems, and i'm thankful i haven't.
In my line of work, i'm glad i can still get down on the floor easily, my knees can tolerate extended time down there scrubbing nooks and crannies, and i can even touch my toes.
While my back does get a bit stiff once in a while, i am thankful that i have very little trouble with it unless i am folding clothes for an extended period of time.
Even though i'm not an athlete or model or anything close to that, i am thankful for this physical self i've been gifted, and i want to take care of it. If you are thankful for your physical self or anything else, make a list (we don't count, it doesn't have to be ten) and link up with Ms. Josie's Ten Things of Thankful. Counting your blessings will brighten your day.
Today is:
Armistice Day/Poppy Day/Remembrance Day/Veterans Day
Bonza Bottler Day
Constitution Day and King's Birthday -- Bhutan
Day of Remembrance of the Volhvs/Einherjar Feast -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (Norse "Feast of the Fallen")
Death/Duty Day
Essence of Motown Literary Jam -- Detroit, MI, US (literary celebration and conference, through Sunday)
Fasching/Karneval -- Germany; Netherlands (official beginning of next year's pre-lent celebration starts on 11/11 at 11:11, when the Council of Eleven, in colorful fools caps, meet to plan the upcoming festivities)
Four Ones Day -- it is 11/11, after all
Herring King Festival -- Etaples, France (Hareng Roi, a festival worth seeing at least once in your life, celebrating this fishing town with herring cooked every way you can imagine; through tomorrow)
Hollantide Day a/k/a Hallow-tide -- Isle of Mann (season of All Saints, first day of Winter, celebrated in conjunction with Martintide, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours)
Independence Day -- Angola(1975); Poland(1918)
Independence of Cartagena City -- Colombia
Lacplesis -- Latvia (Remembrance Day)
Lovington Fall Arts and Crafts Festival -- Lovington, NM, US (over 100 local and regional crafters; through tomorrow)
Lunantishees Day -- Ireland (Fairies who guard the blackthorn trees, cutting a branch today, the old calendar's November 1, means bad luck.)
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week -- US (remembering those who have little or nothing during the upcoming holiday celebrations, and making time to share our bounty with them; through the 19th)
co-sponsors National Coalition for the Homeless and National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness
National Sundae Day
Old November Eve -- In the old calendar, this was actually All Hallow's Eve
Origami Day -- Japan
Pepero Day -- South Korea (similar to a Valentine's Day, when couples exchange Pepero brand cookie sticks)
Pocky and Pretz Day -- Japan (see Pepero day, but substitute the Japanese brand cookie sticks)
Republic Day -- Maldives
Sadie Hawkins Day -- US (on the Saturday nearest Nov. 9, and based on the Li'l Abner comic, a day for women to ask out the man of their choice; also widely observed on Feb. 29 because of a law passed by Parliament of Scotland in 1288)
Singles Day -- China (Guang Gun Jie, literally "bare sticks day", celebrating the single life on the calendar date that has the most 1's)
St. Martin's Day a/k/a St. Martin of Tours's Day (Western), Martinmas (Old England) (Patron of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horses, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners/wine growers and makers; against alcoholism, impoverishment; highly celebrated through Sweden, Switzerland, and the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten and Patron of over 25 diocese, cities, and countries around the world)
Beggar's Day -- Netherlands (children act as beggars on St. Martin's Day, similar to trick-or-treat in English speaking countries)
Martinigians -- Sursee, Switzerland (a celebration of the day in front of Town Hall)
St. Maarten Day -- Sint Maarten
St. Menas of Egypt's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, peddlers, traveling merchants)
The Lord Mayor's Show -- London, England (originally "The Lord Mayor's Day," according to the official website this show has marched, floated, trotted, and occasionally fought through almost 800 years of London history, making it one of the oldest civic pageants in the world)
Veterans of Foreign Wars Day -- Federated States of Micronesia
Anniversaries Today:
Vietnam Women's Memorial is dedicated, 1993
Route 66 is established by the US Highway System, 1926
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary is dedicated, 1921
Washington becomes the 42nd US State, 1889
Birthdays Today:
Leonardo DiCaprio, 1974
Peta Wilson, 1970
Calista Flockhart, 1964
Demi Moore, 1962
Marc Summers, 1951
Bibi Andersson, 1935
Jonathan Winters, 1925
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922
Alger Hiss, 1904
Pat O'Brien, 1899
George Patton, 1885
Victor Emmanuel III, 1869
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, 1821
Abigail Smith Adams,1744
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Shadowlands"(Play), 1990
An Early Frost(TV movie), 1985
"Prisoner of Second Avenue"(Play), 1971
"La Plume de Ma Tante"(Revue), 1958
"God Bless America(Song, first public performance)", 1938
"The Tinker's Wedding"(Synge play), 1909
"Society"(Thompson play), 1865
Today in History:
The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Maxentius and Licinius to be Augusti, while rival contender Constantine I is declared Caesar of Britain and Gaul, 308
41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact, 1620
Massachusetts passes 1st US compulsory school attendance law, 1647
Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x), 1675
The F.H.C. Society, also known as the Flat Hat Club, is formed at Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, as the first college society in the US, 1750
Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China, 1790
British and Canadian forces defeat a larger American force, causing the Americans to abandon their Saint Lawrence campaign, 1813
Mary Edward Walker, the 1st Army female surgeon, is awarded the Medal of Honor, 1865
The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia, giving the government control of indigenous people's wages, their terms of employment, where they could live, and of their children, effectively leading to the Stolen Generations, 1869
The 11/11/11 cold wave: Many cities in the U.S. Midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolled through, 1911
The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery, 1921
Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the first recognized Greek Republic, 1924
U.S. Route 66 is established, 1926
Patent number US1781541 is awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator, 1930
The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia is opened, 1934
Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait, 1962
NASA launches Gemini 12, 1966
Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations, 1981
The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests, 1992
New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington, 2004
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army, 2006
The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets sail on her final voyage to Dubai, 2008
The leaders of China and Japan meet for formal talks after more than two years of severe tension over a territorial dispute, 2014