One Month of Daily Gratitude

I love gratitude lists! They are quick ways of reminding yourself of the gratitude in your life. I've tried writing daily gratitude lists before but it never became a habit. I have been looking at other people's daily gratitude lists and it inspired me to try it again for at least a month. I made it a goal for the whole month of April. I even used an empty journal that I had so that I could write my lists in an actual gratitude diary. At the end of the day, I would jot down a few things that I was grateful for on that specific day or I would make myself write them down not long after they happened. Some things were written into more of a sentence and others were just point form. I wrote at least one thing each day. My gratitude ranges from simple things like hearing birds through an open window to big things like winning second place in a short essay contest.

Writing these daily lists made me realize that there is always something to be grateful for, even during tough times in our life. April wasn't easy for me. My Grandma's health was going up and down and my Great-Aunt Mary passed away. Even with all of this happening, there were still good things that happened and making these lists helped me to see that this month wasn't all bad. I think that's the great thing about making gratitude lists, they show you that there is always something good that you might miss if you don't pay attention to it. The stress of April has been continuing into May so I'm glad that I have decided to continue my gratitude diary. It helps a lot!

If you're curious about what my daily gratitude lists look like, here are my lists from April. Enjoy!

April 1:

• Walking my dog on a beautiful day with my brother
• My cat being happy to see me
• Friends staying for a little while to chat
• Recognizing and moving past unhelpful thoughts
• I found out that my cousin got engaged

April 2:

• Morning walk with my brother to get brunch
• Warm sunny weather
• Baking cookies while I drank tea and listened to music
• Chatting with a friend
• Feeling productive today because my brother and I got some things done around the house
• Talking to my best friend about something that has been bothering me lately
• Finding out that my Dad is going to buy Fan Expo tickets for my brother and I

April 3:

• Lots of walking
• Carpets of moss
• Squishy mud
• Writing a letter to my pen pal from Indonesia

April 4:

• Grandma is here at our house to stay while she recuperates from her health problems
• Working together with my brother to get the house ready for Grandma's stay
• Having supper ready for my parents and Grandma when they got home
• Baking muffins

April 5:

• A good shower
• Got my pen pal letter mailed out
• Grandma commented on how pretty a Chickadee was (Chickadees just happen to be my favourite bird)
• Chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars
• Chocolate milk and a roasted garlic and cheese bagel toasted with herb and garlic cream cheese
• My cat crawled up on Grandma's bed

April 6:

• Recognizing when I needed time alone and giving myself that time

April 7:

• Two lovely ladies commented on how they liked my outfit
• First little bike ride of the year in the evening when the sun was going down

April 8:

• Baking cupcakes for my Dad's birthday (My Dad loved them)
• Biking to the cemetery
• Some plants are starting to come up in our yard

April 9:

• Earl Grey tea and lemon coffee cake for breakfast
• My cat snoozing on my bed
• Writing my Spring goals list
• Being encouraged to write by my city's current poet laureate

April 10:

• My Great-Aunt Mary had a wonderful life

April 11:

• Not forcing myself to focus when I can't focus
• Playing with my cat

April 12:

• Hearing birds through an open window
• Made a wire gem tree as a late birthday present for my Dad

April 13:

• I bought a book that I've been wanting to buy
• I found out that I won second place in a short essay contest
• I saw the first robin that I've seen this Spring
• Eating ice cream with Grandma
• Seeing all of the solar lights lit up in the cemetery this evening

April 14:

• Biking with my Mom
• Feeling like I'm finally starting to figure out my life a bit

April 15:

• The first episode of the new season of Doctor Who

April 16:

• Baking
• A great Easter supper
• Spending time with my family

April 17:

• Cadbury creme egg
• A really nice cashier

April 18:

• I completed my main goal for today of finding something that I needed to find (it was easier to find than I thought
• Getting questions answered (and receiving the answers that I was hoping for)
• My cat groomed my rabbit
• I figured out how to scan documents to save on the computer
• A very productive day

April 19:

• Homemade pizza
• A nice email

April 20:

• I finished my application for the Library and Information Technician program through Confederation College's distance education

April 21:

• Wearing an outfit that makes me happy
• Waking up earlier and getting ready earlier in the morning
• Homemade chocolate peanut butter cups

April 22:

• Drinking tea on the front porch with my cat on my lap
• My Mom finally found the library book that she borrowed using my library card (the day before it was due)

April 23:

• Funny TV show
• Perogies in tomato soup

April 24:

• My first donation for this year's Gutsy Walk and it was the amount that I set as my goal!

April 25:

• I'm going to be starting the Library and Information Technician program through Confederation College's distance education in September

April 26:

• My family
• My pets
• Spring peepers
• Earl Grey tea

April 27:

• Wind chimes and birds
• Trying  a new cookie recipe

April 28:

• Spending time with my best friend
• Bubble tea
• Exploring
• Lots of walking
• The power coming back on after going out yesterday
• My favourite teacher from elementary school saying "Hi!" to my friend and I while we were walking past her car that was stopped on the road

April 29:

• A good shower in the morning
• Getting my Grandma out of her hospital room for a little while
• Vegetarian tacos

April 30:

• Buying books and art pencils on sale and getting even better sales on them than I originally thought
• Going up to the camp for the night

Cheers,
Kaylie