Leaping into an attitude of gratitude

I tend to want to do blog posts on special days. 

Surely Leap Day is special. It just happens once every four years. 

It occurs to me I went almost all month without blogging, finally forcing myself to write something a day or two ago. 

Now I wish I had not posted anything for February until on this bonus day, Feb. 29. 

Not that those kinds of things matter at all. 

Here’s something else that doesn’t matter at all, although it surprised me: On this 29th day of February, I noticed I still have a photo from Christmas for my Facebook profile picture! It’s like I forgot to take down the Christmas decorations!! Yet, for reasons I won’t explain, this is not a good day to change it. 

All in all, all is well. 

I told a friend I had to let go the thought of making Leap Day “count” as something “special.” Instead, I would draw on several reminders to focus on gratitude today. Gratitude can make any moment count and make ordinary things special. 

I’m grateful to focus on gratitude. 

And now I’m grateful to turn the calendar page to March. 

Ash Wednesday

Every day this month, one of the things on my to-do list has been "early Feb blog post."

February has 29 days this year. It's Feb. 26. This is my first post for the month.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm still on a journey to learn what role writing has in my life. I keep collecting information in my mind and sometimes even in written notes and photos that I think should be shared. When it comes time to put it into a narrative ... I get stuck.

I thought I had it figured out and decided to try again, with a story for publication. But before it was finished, my life was out of balance as I tried to do whatever it took to find the words I was trying to say. And they just didn't come. After literally hours and hours of work, all I had produced was a wordy mess.

That was 3 a.m. today, Ash Wednesday.

After a about four hours of fitful sleep, I woke up. Did I mention I prayed every step of the way on this writing project? And still I prayed. What do I do now? I want to sleep, but the story still needs a little work. And I have places to go to day and chores to do in preparation for leaving with my husband on a 10-day trip with lots of business for him.

Maybe I'll finish telling about this someday. For now, I need to go to bed. I did go to the Ash Wednesday service at church. It's where I needed to be. Even when I feel like a lost child, I know God is with me. And I am grateful.