There was a sign in this town by a car wash for the past several weeks that said “Give thanks” as if we should do it only in November for Thanksgiving. I disagree. I think we should practice gratitude and give thanks every day.
One morning when I walked the trail, a guy coming towards me stopped, put leashes on his big dogs, and then stepped off the trail. When I got close enough, I asked him if he did that for me. He said “Yes” and I replied “Thank you,” and then told him how I used to run a mile on a dirt road with a dog leash in each hand, so my dogs could run with me.
On my way home, I stopped at Walmart to get cat food and kiwis. After putting them in the car, I couldn’t see where to take the cart. A young gal had her cart and said “I’ll take it for you.”
Every day I walk the trail (every day it isn’t raining), I practice gratitude. One item that always comes up is being thankful for the kind and generous people in Heber Springs, AR who have helped me.
During the first and second years, I expressed gratitude for my Fabulous Four (girlfriends in different states and Canada) who listened to me while I talked about how hard it was to live here where everything, and I mean everything, is different from Durango, Colorado. In this small town in Arkansas, there are no organic grocers (!), technology is old (the Rx I got for my glasses was the same Rx I got in Durango in 2018!), and the climate is humid whereas Durango is high desert with zip humidity, and in Durango, I had to drive 15 minutes to get an MRA whereas here I have to drive more than an hour to get one. Even the light here is different.
I express gratitude for my first friend, Ron Gillespie, the man who built the house I live in with his son. He always answers my questions—not only about the house but about doctors and more.
I give thanks for the couple who brought me here, Rod and Carol Balderree. They found a rental for me in Heber Springs when there were none in four states (Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona) because of the Pandemic. Rod took me on a drive pointing out things of interest, drove me to Searcy so I could buy something that the local Walmart didn’t have, and fixed some
things I didn’t know how to fix despite being the property maintenance girl in Durango when I had the triplex.
Carol showed me where all the trails were and even walked them with me. She bought some pickle ball racquets and got her friend to teach us how to play. Rod and Carol let me go to the lake in their pontoon boat twice my first year; Carol and I swam to a big rock and back. Carol took me to the swimming pool in the Community Center and introduced me to a class of women doing water exercises. They answer my questions about this strange place that reminds me of Durango in 1976 except Durango had an organic grocery even then.
These are just a few of the things I am grateful for. I give thanks constantly and I practice gratitude every day.
If you have a challenge thinking of what to be grateful for, you might benefit from reading this book about gratitude by author Maria McMahon which is free on Amazon: A Pocketful of Thank You: 9 key areas to bring joy, harmony, health, wealth & happiness into your life (see link below to get your free copy). It’s the book I read years ago that taught me to have gratitude for everything.
Till next time,
Please be kind to everyone you meet, for we all have our hidden sorrows. ~Tzaddi
skatingthru2012 
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