Fifty Days of Gratitude: Days 26, 27, and 28

I seldom need to catch up on three days worth of gratitude, but as I mentioned early on, I've tried to stop beating myself up for failing to meet expectations, mine or others.

It's been a very full three days and thinking about all they've held is still fresh and new and not ready for a post. But this evening finds my Beloved and I in a place and posture of rest and return. I love it when alliteration is also accurate.

Bruce's mom was one of six children; four girls and two boys. One of the girls, the baby, only lived for a brief time on this earth. Now, the only surviving sibling is the one just older than her, and he is in his late eighties, if our math is correct.

We've been remembering all of them recently and giving thanks for their lives. There was a lot of hardship and adversity and a lot of joy and laughter. That seems exactly right. We've also been talking about that generation's tendency to keep secrets rather than talk about hard things. It seems to me that they didn't have the kind of ready access to good mental health support and care that we have today. There wasn't a compassionate counselor who could say "maybe this wouldn't hurt so much/feel so terrible/seem so scary if you just shared it with someone you trust. Talk about it.

Those are rambling thoughts, which is basically right where my head is just now. Which is why I need this space for rest and return. To rest my heart and mind and body and return to a place of gratitude and thanksgiving that spans generations.

Today, I'm thankful for places of rest and return and people with whom we can share the hardest places we traverse in life on this side of the pale.