When I left nursing, I didn’t have a master plan. Just deep breaths, my daughter, a new husband, and a baby on the way. We had just bought our first house when — boom — his industry shut down. He was the first one laid off.
Picture it: new home, no child support from my daughter’s father, a baby due any day, and me standing there thinking: Well, this should be interesting.
The only way forward I knew was one breath at a time. Sometimes one minute at a time. I planted an organic garden. My friends loved passing their children’s clothes to each other, including me. I baked zucchini bread and tucked food away in the freezer before giving birth, so we’d be covered for a while. Little by little, things shifted.
And gratitude — well, gratitude became my oxygen.
Here’s the thing: when life feels impossible, gratitude sneaks in like duct tape. It doesn’t fix everything instantly, but it holds things together long enough for miracles to slip through the cracks.
Friends would see my hand embroidered work-shirt and ask if I would do one for them. They insisted on paying, (long before Etsy was a thing). Someone gifted me a Vitamix blender when she was moving. Opportunities showed up when I had no idea how they could. And when child support finally came around years later? My gratitude even showed up in the mail — literally.
I started sending checks with thank you stickers, hearts, doodles — anything that would make the person opening them smile. When I mailed child support paperwork to Montana, I sent it in a neon orange envelope with a neon blue folder inside. The clerk recognized it immediately. She loved it so much, she put it on top of a stack of 100 cases waiting for the judge. And guess what? Mine was seen first.
Gratitude has a way of standing out in a world full of beige envelopes.
As a thank-you from my heart to yours, I’m offering a special holiday price on
The Healer’s Library—a set of my three books that blend true stories with self-help tools for healing and growth. This is my gift to you, born from everything I’ve learned and lived on this journey. It’s available worldwide.
LINK HERE
Even the post office staff noticed. They looked forward to my mail. One of them even came to me years later when she lost her engagement ring. I “felt” it was hidden under her blue carpet — and sure enough, when they replaced the carpet, there it was.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Connection? Absolutely.
Gratitude isn’t just a nice idea. It’s a practical, powerful tool:
🌱 It shifts your perspective when life feels overwhelming.
💌 It creates connection with strangers, friends, and even bureaucrats.
✨ It turns the ordinary — a bill, a loaf of bread, a recycled sweater — into something sacred.
So here’s your invitation: add one small dose of gratitude to something ordinary this week. Write “thank you” in the memo line. Leave a note for your mail carrier. Send a text just to say you’re glad someone’s in your life.
