Day 365

Today, friends, is Day 365 of my daily gratitude posts on Facebook. Well, ok, Nov. 1 technically should have been Day 365, but somehow I lost four days in the last year.

I started this challenge on Nov. 1, 2013, as a part of the typical November 30-day challenge I saw many of my friends doing.

On Nov. 1 I began posting my daily thankfuls. On Nov. 15, the world stopped. My dad was killed in a house fire. I could have stopped right then and there (and I considered it), but as I helped my mom pick up the pieces of her life — she had lost her husband, her animals, her home, life possessions, everything — I realized there were a few bright spots. Those came in the form of help from the Red Cross, The Salvation Army, people who had heard about the fire on the news, my mom’s church, friends and family, and so many others. I began to be grateful for those things and I decided to keep the posting going because in those moments after the fire, I needed to see a shred of light in life.

When the sun set on November last year, I just kept going. It had become a daily part of my life — and one I had started to rely on after the fire.

In the last year I’ve kept this going. 30 days. 90 days. 300 days. And now an entire year.

Today, I am grateful that I’ve kept this up for a year. I’m grateful for the people who read them.

And I’m grateful that so many of my friends are taking part in the challenge for another November, because I really do enjoy reading what others are thankful for.

Thank you, everyone, for the last year.

And yes, I will be continuing this. I had considered not continuing this, but after much thought and realization that it does help (a lot), I have decided to continue.

Brandy