365 Days of Gratitude: Days 8, 9, 10, and 11

Hello everyone, I swear I only half fell off the wagon. It just got crazy this weekend. Plus, I desperately needed to clean my apartment. It’s important to have a clean environment in which to exist. I’m so grateful to have read Marie Kondo’s book on it. 10 out of 10, I would recommend.

Of course, I have continued to write down the things that make me grateful. I simply didn’t post them to my blog. So here it goes, Days 8, 9, 10, and 11 of gratitude are coming up.

Day 8

1. I’m grateful that I got to see some amazing fireworks.

Summer is an awesome time to be in Japan. I’ve love, love, love, love, love, love…did you get that I love…fireworks. And these were fantastic. Some of the best I have ever seen, they were only trumped by the Akita firework show I saw a couple of years ago.

It’s the small things in life that make the biggest explosions.


2. I’m grateful that I went too far on the train line.

I was actually super grateful that I missed my station by one station.  Let me tell you something special about Japan, it’s a cash based society. So, that means almost everything is paid for in cash not by card- particularly if your card is an American card.

The day I went too far. I had forgotten to withdraw money.  That’s totally okay it happens. But I needed the money to get home. Thankfully because I overshot my station, there was an ATM right outside of it for the Japanese Post Bank. Wow! How lucky! Sometimes like just works out. 

3. I’m grateful I got separated from my friends.

I was by myself, but I ended up meeting someone really cool. It was nice, and I’ve been looking for someone like that for a while. 

4. I’m grateful that I can now go to places alone with being terrified.

I’m naturally super shy. In a work place setting, you probably wouldn’t realize it because I’m so over expressive with my job. But truthfully, I really struggle to get past my worries. I’m really grateful now that I’m able to go some places without others because it’s so important to forming new friendships and meeting new people.

5. I’m grateful to live in such an exciting place like Tokyo.

There are so many things happening in Tokyo! I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity to move to such a big city.

Day 9

1. I’m grateful that I get to start my Sunday with a cheap latte.
I mean, is there really any other more enjoyable way. I do love slowly waking up with a nice cold ice latte. Ah, this really is one of the true joys in my life.

2. I’m grateful that I’m looking forward to Monday. 
I like my job. It’s really wonderful.

3. I’m grateful that my house is now clean. 

Taking care of your space is a skill I didn’t learn until I was around 25 years old. While it’s a challenge at times when I’m living in a clean environment, I produce better works and am happier.

4. I’m grateful to have friends who want to talk to me. 
It seems silly, but it was always one of my sore spots. The older I get the more secure I get in my friendships.

5. I’m grateful for the absurdity of events that make up my life.
My life is kind of crazy. But it’s also always interesting. What an uncertain future I have to look forward to.

Day 10:

1. I’m grateful to always be challenged.
As a teacher, every day brings new challenges. Life is fun like that.

2. I’m grateful that every day ends.
I was exhausted today. Probably because I deep cleaned for 6 hours yesterday. But every day ends, and I’m glad that I get to wake up tomorrow and try again.

3. I’m grateful that I can work faster now.
When I first started working at an elementary, I was so slow. Now, I’ve really sped up, and I feel so much better about the progress I’ve made. 

4. I’m grateful that I have access to uncontaminated water. 
It seems silly, but I live in Tokyo. The water is probably polluted. Fortunately, I work for a super awesome company that really believes in health. They have a special, very expensive water filter that ensures purity of the water. I’m grateful that I have access to that while I work.

5. I’m grateful that my work (for a small fee of course) provides a super healthy lunch.

It’s really awesome because some days I don’t want to cook and lunch becomes my main meal of the day. But, it’s okay because I had vegetables and brown rice along with a healthy protein such as tofu. I’m grateful that at least one meal I eat is healthy.

Day 11:

1. I’m grateful that I can take the time to sit down and keep up this gratitude list online.
Yeah, I fell behind, but life happens. I’m grateful that I no longer have such a strong perfectionist streak that I give up when I fall a little behind.

2. I’m grateful to teach such eager learners. 
My students cornered me today and demanded their passwords for a site called education.com. I’m really grateful that they’re so interested in English.

3. I’m grateful that people in my life are reaching out and expressing affection for me.
It seems silly, but those small words of encouragement from them mean everything to me. I’m so grateful to have those types of people in my life.

4. I’m grateful that I feel good.
Somebody came in super sick today, and I was reminded of how hard it is to be positive when you’re ill. I’m grateful that this week my health has returned, and I’m ready to take on the world.

5. I’m grateful to have lost a little weight recently.
I’m still on a bit of a weight loss journey. But looking back, I’m so grateful that I can celebrate small losses of weight as a well as big ones.