Maintaining Gratitude

This is the 6th Saturday off, in my new life that incorporates 2 day weekends into my world. I woke up this morning very appreciative of the day off. The shine is starting to fade on this newly acquired benefit in my life. How do I keep my appreciation alive and fresh?

Gratitude is key. I still woke up with 'thank you' forefront in my mind. I have an exciting plans for the day and it is so great to have the entire day off to bask in the glow of what in store.

Time is a gift. It seems that no matter what is or isn't going on in my life, I seem to create a busyness about me. Things to do, routines to follow, goals to attain. It all adds a specialness to the gift of time that is left over at the end of the day.

As I listen to what is going on in the world these days (the financial crisises abounding), I must admit that I do wonder why I think that I can afford to take this time off. I have replaced the lost income (in whole or in part ... time will tell, as the year ahead unfolds), so this actually has given me the freedom to give me more time at home. A fair bit of time is devoted to this new job from my home. But I do wonder if I should be working at every opportunity I have and squirreling away the excess for stormy weather ahead?

The past 10 years of my life have been devoted to earning a living from my home. It started out as a strong desire to be an at-home parent for my children. I remember the lists that I wrote out as ideas started formulating in my mind as to how I could support myself. Since that time, my dedication to self employment has been tested time and time again. Every single time that I was at a fork in the road and had to make a decision - do I go back to the security of my old job ... or do I stay committed to the daycare I am running? The moment I made a firm decision in my mind to stay home, some small miracle would happen that lessened the financial burden and made it viable to continue on the path that I had chosen. Every single time!! It was as if (as The Secret maintains), I created my own life - by the picture I had in my mind, the picture I created financially/emotionally/realistically made me believe this could work. I think it would be fair to say that every year of the 10 years I've been running my daycare, I have had a period of anxiety where I wondered "Where do I go from here?" Every year, I decided to keep working from home. This year, I added a new dimension to that dilemma by asking "Can I afford to let go of my Saturday job?" I created my new reality, made choices that have allowed me this gift. And ... here I am!

I never want to lose the appreciation that I have for the life that I am living. I've made choices that are right for me ... and right for my family. I have a peace of mind that money simply can't buy. And now, I have the gift of a 2 day weekend.

It makes my Saturdays off, just a little more special.