This post is part of The Gratitude Challenge hosted by Let’s Take the Metro.

Around this time of year, posts of gratitude start cropping up.  It’s a time to be thankfulfor things. It isn’t as though people aren’t thankful during other times of the year. Our focus is merely amplified during this season, as harvests are finished and we are faced with the long winter ahead. Rather than thining it cliche to post about gratitude, I prefer to think that people are thinking about others and reflecting about their lives. It’s a much better focus, in my opinion, than fictional stories of Thanksgivings past.

So today, as my family kicks off our Halcyon celebrations, I’d like to share a few things of which I am grateful:

1. Love – it makes everything worthwhile
2. Financial Security – having money to buy necessities makes life much less stressful
3. My husband – I’m married to a wonderful man
4. Breastfeeding – makes a healthier mom and child
5. Our home – it’s nice to have a roof over our heads and a warm place to go
6. Good friends – Friends are the family we choose
7. Books – full of knowledge and adventure
8. The Sun – providing light and heat, begetting all life on our planet
9. Snuggling under warm blankets with my loved ones
10. My older son – kind and compassionate, I look forward to seeing the man he will become
11. My older daughter – creative and instinctual, she will hold her own in the world
12. My younger son – with such a strong sense of ethics, he will be an advocate for others
13. My younger daughter – joyful and energetic, she keeps me on my toes
14. The volunteers at the Natural Parents Network – a great group of people that are wonderful to work with and know
15. My mother – from whom I learned much and I miss greatly
16. My grandmothers – whose struggles and achievements over generations allowed me to be
17. Science – which allows us to learn how things work
18. Separation of church and state – which allows us all to believe or not believe whatever we want without dictation
19. The quiet at the end of the day when everyone else is asleep and I can reflect on my day
20. A good hair stylist who can give me a great haircut requiring that I do nothing to it, even when I don’t see her for 9 months
21. Meditation – while I don’t do it often enough, it’s very calming
22. Maturity – it adds to wisdom
23. Birth choices – because birth is an intimate experience which shouldn’t be dictated by someone else
24. Ring slings – my go to baby carrier most of the time
25. The family bed – which has given us more sleep, kept us connected, and kept our children safe and taken care of
26. Non-violent communication – allowing more effective communication and connection within our family and with others
27. Acceptance and those who show it – embracing those who are different
28. Advocates – without whom we wouldn’t have many of the rights we enjoy
29. Hikes – communing with nature
30. Dogoba chocolate mint lip balm – my favorite little pick me up
31. Knowledge – I can never get enough
32. Privileges – we normally take these for granted but without those who have stood up before us, we would never have had them
33. Community – for support when you need it
34. Car seats – better car seats and greater knowledge about extended rear-facing and harnessing and boosters to keep my children safe
35. Back carriers – for getting more things done and wearing two children at a time
36. Unfamily get togethers – because sometimes extended family sucks and friends can fill that gap
37. Authors – who not only write awesome books but give them to me free to read and review
38. 13 years of marriage and more to come
39. Internet – a convenient way to plan co-ops, field trips, get togethers with friends, and share with family
40. Sense of sight – allowing me to see colors and the faces of my beautiful children
41. Sense of sound – allowing me to smell, from flowers to food to the scents of my family
42. Sense of touch – for hugs and caresses
43. Rain – aiding growth and making a wonderful backdrop for staying inside
44. Snow – for sledding and ice cream, snowballs and forts
45. Diversity – making life delightful and more resilient
46. Kind strangers – brightening someone’s day by helping out
47. Challenges – helping me to grow as a person
48. Staying home with my children – so that I can watch them learn and grow into themselves
49. Unschooling – an amazing process to live and an amazing process to watch
50. Chiropractic care – from a good chiropractor
51. Mistakes – for a chance to model humility and forgiveness
52. Seasons – marking the passage of time
53. Public Lands – an attempt to protect the Earth and remind us that it isn’t ours, regardless of what section to which we may lay claim
54. Hot showers – which feel so good
55. Photographs – so that I may look back
56. Art – for self-expression
57. Music – invoking the soul
58. Lact-Aids – which enable me to nurse my children
59. sticks – some of the best toys around
60. Libraries – free use of so many books
61. Time – a resource not to be squandered
62. Intactivism – a fight for genital integrity
63. Aunts – who step in from far away to act as stand-in grandmothers for my children
64. Hot teas – which I have only recently come to appreciate
65. Recognition – having someone recognize that we have done something rather than judging what we have done
66. Sex – whether long love making after the kids are in bed or quickies stolen in the shower
67. Grass – a place to play
68. Trees – for sheltering and climbing
69. Treasures – magical collections shared with me by my children
70. A decluttered life – freeing
71. Math – showing how everything fits
72. Pregnancy – for the feel of my little ones before they were born
73. Toddler antics – which keep you young
74. Childhood wonder – reminding us of what is truly important
75. The question why? – informing and aiding in understanding
76. E-readers – which I never thought I’d say
77. Laptops – for working close to the kids
78. Experience gifts – no clutter and all the fun
79. Diet soda – my one occassional vice, which I may one day say goodbye to for good
80.  Food – nourishment and enjoyments
81. Yoga – stretching and exercise
82. Rubber ducks in my bath – because someone small is putting them there
83. Boardgames – for family game night
84. Learning – it’s never a waste
85. Mountains – cementing one’s small place in a large world while giving spectacular views
86. Freedom – to do what we choose
87. Journeys – giving us purpose
88. Socks that fit just right – yes, I have sock issues
89. Land – growing up on a farm and the freedom that entailed, something I’d like to give my children
90. Men and children – there is nothing sexier than a man taking care of and playing with his kids
91. The progression of jokes as your children age – they make you groan, laugh, and smile all at once
92. ASL – minimizing the frustration of my children before they could speak
93. The eyes of my children – so that I can rediscover and learn more
94. Sunsets and sunrises – beautiful new beginnings
95. Hope – sometimes it’s what gets me through
96. A sense of humor – which makes life more enjoyable
97. History – which has made me what I am today
98. Future possibilities – which will continue to mold me
99. Change – new possibilities, new growth, a fresh scene
100. My close knit little family – strong, supportive, and there for one another