100 things to be thankful for

The 2021 edition

It’s been even more of a rollercoaster year than usual but I think being thankful, even when you have to look hard for things to be thankful for, is an essential way of life. With that in mind, I’m listing 100 as we approach the end of the year – it might take me a while to gather that many but I’m determined!

1. Jon – my husband, who keeps me grounded, who looks after me and loves me.
2. My boys – growing faster than I can keep up with, my eldest, who is just a few weeks shy of 16, has just overtaken me! They are both at an age that is fun, as much as it is challenging.
3. Sister Phillipa
4. Brother in Law Daniel
5. Lovely niece Eva
6. Mum & Dad
7. Mum-in-Law Joyce
8. Wider family – both on Jon’s side and mine there are a whole bunch of cousins and Aunties and Uncles who are good company and fun to be around.
9. Rachel – this woman is the best best friend I could possibly ask for. She has made me a better person.
10. James & Christelle – this pair of wonderful people make the best, loveliest couple and I’m so pleased they are together.
11. Will – my rather fabulous business coach
12. Therapy
13. Wintering – the book and learning to embrace the experience as a good one. We do not learn in our comfort zones; we only learn by going through tough times.
14. The Gather Collective
15. Things that sparkle
16. Food in our cupboards/on our table
17. The chance to learn to pace myself
18. My Physio who helps me manage my pain – and encourages me to look for solutions
19. The NHS
20. Prescription Prepayment Certificate – I’m eternally thankful that we can make these regular payments which help to keep the overall cost of prescriptions.
21. Faith and spirituality
22. Big skies
23. Our home
24. A wardrobe full of clothes that bring me joy – I’ve worked at this in the last 6 months and it’s good to end the year with some tools to help my mindset.
25. Writing a book
26. Publishing the same book (which you can buy here – you didn’t think I’d miss that opportunity, did you?!)
27. Passing my level 4 Psychology course with distinction
28. Skype
29. Podcasting – recording and publishing episodes has been great fun this year
30. 94 + books read this year
31. Going to the cinema – 16 films this year
32. Watching the sun rise
33. Watching the sun set
34. Victoria – the fabulous human being who cleans our home every week. It has been a brilliant thing to have this woman in my life, another shining star in my collection!
35. Work
36. Writing
37. Creative Journalling
38. Facebook conversations about dinner – we have these about 6 times a year, when I run out of inspiration! Seriously, one of the hardest things about being an adult is deciding what to have for dinner EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT!
39. Phone calls with friends at the right time, or just any time
40. Listening to podcasts
41. Marie Kondo and the Art of Kon Mari
42. Following good news stories and those who relentlessly publicise good things that are happening, this is one of the reasons I really love comedian Russell Howard!
43. Gift giving
44. Listening to music
45. Writing letters and receiving them
46. Photographs
47. The Harry Potter books
48. Boxsets
49. New ideas for work
50. Visiting Cumbria and the chance to spend time with family, both mine and Jon’s.
51. My husband being so very practical
52. Warm sunny days
53. Long daylight hours in the summer months
54. Twinkly lights in the winter time
55. I am enjoying conversations about keeping the lights up into the new year, rather than taking them down after Christmas. This seems like a great idea to me.
56. Living near the sea
57. A&E services – I have had at least one trip to A&E this year, and the paramedics, nurses and doctors are all amazing.
58. My new GP
59. Slowing down – it’s been enforced but it has been revolutionary.
60. International friends – since the pandemic began it’s become MUCH easier to keep in contact with those from thousands of miles away ad this is real blessing to me.
61. Laughter
62. Mental Health Workshops
63. Learning to rest
64. Hugs
65. Friday night quizzes through lockdown. Lockdown was pretty awful but Friday nights were a lot of fun
66. The arrival of our tiny kitten, now a much bigger kitten! Shadow has turned us all into cat people.
67. Vaccinations that mean we can have some normality
68. The Great British Bake Off – a very good series this year
69. Learning about self-care vs self-soothing
70. Having colourful hair
71. The #3GoodThings hashtag – I really love the simplicity of this practice, it seems at first glance to be far too asinine to be effective but that’s why it’s so good. Easy to do, and yet a really profound impact.
72. The Olympics – I don’t often watch when it’s on but I did this summer and it was GOOD
73. Marcus Rashford – I never would have thought I would include a big name celebrity, let alone a footballer on this list. But Marcus Rashford has done more for children and young people in the UK in the last couple of years than our government have done in the previous decade. He is an inspiration!
74. Creative Arts – books, films, musicals, all manner of storytelling. It’s so life giving and so good to have these things back in our lives after what felt like a long break due to Covid.
75. Finding Stitch Fix – a completely new way to buy clothes and I’m sold!
76. My mentoring clients – I love the work I do in supporting those who work with young people to do so in a more effective way. If you’re interested in mentoring with me then get in touch here.
77. SEN assessment for our youngest. It might seem like a strange thing for a ‘good things’ list but this has been revolutionary for our family. We went to bibic in Somerset for a two day assessment at their centre. I highly recommend this organisation; their therapists were just brilliant.
78. My hot water bottle and ice packs – along with painkillers these are what help keep me afloat and mobile.
79. Linda – the wonderful woman who looks after Shadow when we go away
80. Two babies born into our family this year – always good news!
81. Sunshine
82. Bullet Journalling – Rachel reminded me of this habit that I tried a few years ago but never quite got into it. This time it feels like it might stick.
83. Rachel graduated from her Midwifery degree in September and I’m ridiculously proud of her achievement.
84. Lifting of restrictions – one of the good things about having everything so locked down for a significant chunk of the year is when these restrictions are lifted. We obviously haven’t seen the back of Covid19 yet, but I was pleased when we could get out and about again.
85. Kitchen gadgets that make life a little easier
86. A lack of responsibilities – again this has been somewhat enforced but it is welcome! Read more about that here
87. School for our boys
88. The enjoyment of writing
89. So many fabulous friends who have loved and supported me this year
90. Safe journeys – though there haven’t been as many as in other years, I’m still thankful for safety in the ones we have made
91. Being rescued on a journey to and from Yeovil – I went to stay with Rachel in September, had to be rescued on the way there and on the way home because my energy/pain levels got bad.
92. Staying Covid free – the family all had it in October but I managed to stay away from it. It was a stressful 10 days but all recovered well thankfully.
93. The beach
94. Coffee with friends overlooking the beach
95. My body and the remarkable things it can do – even though this year has been the least mobile
96. The ability to read – when nearly everything else seemed to go earlier on this year because of a lack of energy, I could still read and that was a gift
97. Our comfortable bed
98. Long-standing friends
99. New friends
100. Reflecting back, in order to make sense of the here and now – I’ve discovered just how important this is in the last 12 months!

2021 has not been an easy year, has it. But in amongst all the ups and downs it is important to be grateful, and having been determined to think of 100 things that have been good this year, I’ve succeeded! Gratitude has shaped my life in an amazing way, none more so than this year.

Blessings for the new year my friends.