Silent Gratitude isn't much use to anyone

I have much to be grateful for....










I have decided that I need to write a gratitude journal. It will be a chronicle of all the people in my life and of all the random things in my daily existence of whom or of which I am eternally grateful. The symbol above is the symbol of gratitude. If you are the subject of this post, I offer it to you with an abiding and heartfelt thank you for gracing my life.

To my wonderful husband, Jim:

When I was young I know I dreamed of a Prince Charming that would be at my side to the end of my days; one who would set me up in a castle of dreams and surround me with love the colour of a rainbow. You were an unlikely prince charming. You came with baggage, debt, and a disease that almost ate away at our love for each other. And, yet, here we are so many years later. I feel like I have found the Rainbow I dreamed about so long ago.

There is absolutely no doubt that we have struggled with our love affair. There were many times when we grew apart. There were menacing moments when I left you to follow a different version of what my life could be like. You always stayed by my side. No matter how angry or disappointed you were that I was leaving the castle of dreams that you were building, you always welcomed me back. You gave me the freedom to figure out that the home I had always been looking for would be found within the circle of your arms.

I am most grateful that you allow me to follow my dreams and to write my own biography. You know how very much it means to me to be exactly who I want to be, even if that means giving up a big salary, or other meaningless trappings, in favour of pursuing unspent dreams.

You also understood that I want my life journey to be all about “she made a difference to me”, so that every reader of my epitaph might reflect and remember a time when I said or did the very thing that made a difference in their life. Though it frustrated you at times that I offered too much in generosity to others, you gave me space to travel the path that I set out for myself. Even though you chastised me for my giving too much, you found so many other ways to tell me you were proud that I am who I am.

I am honoured to love someone who has faced their own demons, who has conquered an unbelievable insidious and terrifying dis-ease. I marvel at how you deliver your personal message of hope to others who are trying to overcome their demons.

I watch how you make a difference to each and every person you encounter. I secretly smile inside as I witness the many smiles that you leave in your path through life. The day is always brighter for people who have the fortune of your attention.

I am unbelievably thankful to have you as the father of our three children. I know that you are a living example to them; a testament to the belief that one can overcome the worst of obstacles and can be a better person who rises from the ashes of life. I am witness to the love that you have for them. I wish they only knew how very fortunate to have been borne your child.

I am grateful to be your partner in life. Thank you for the castle that you have built, that you have fortified, and that you have preserved for me brick by loving brick. Thank you for making my childhood dreams a reality.

I love you more today than yesterday. But I will love you more tomorrow. I will always love you.

With Gratitude,

Brenda