They tell me to worry about all these things. You could go through the alphabet, much like my mom does with her toddler students at day care.
A is for Airplanes. The 737 seems to be failing.
B is for bacteria. It’s crawling all over you. Wash your hands. Bleach.
C is for cancer. Don’t drink Diet Coke. Put down that cigarette.
D is for Donald… Ugh. Yes I am afraid.
E is for Eggs. Are the ones I just purchased cage-free and do the chickens producing them even have beaks?
F is for Future. Uncertainty looms.
We could go on and on… at least until X. It always gets tricky at X. I’m not afraid of xylophones. Some people are afraid of their eXes I suppose.
I want to stop the worrying. I’ve caught myself tuning in to CNN too much – hoping for good news. Am I crazy? They thrive on my anxious clicking, fine-tuned to hone in on the bad.
So today, here’s a beautiful ABCs – let’s bring it in and focus back to the basics.
Photo by Jessicah Hast on Unsplash
A is for Apples crunching – honey crisps falling on bending bows of bountiful trees
B is for Babies – brave people keep making them
C is for Cheese – have you had cheese! I bought burrata and more gorgonzola for those gorgeous pears
D is for Dogs – mostly my dog Olive
E is for Eggs – soft boiled with a dash of salt
F is for Family – as messy as we are we keep trying to show up
G is for Grandmothers. Mine makes me smile.
H is for Home. However you define it, may you find comfort in those walls.
I is for Iced coffee – just a few days left to drink your java on the rocks
J is for Juice – spiced apple cider – cinnamon swirling, spice sediment mixing in magic
K is for Koalas – k is a little tough…
L is for Light streaming in, sun rising slowly, dancing in the golden leaves
M is for Marriage – it’s hard and messy and comforting and wise
N is for Not Yet – I don’t have all the answers – there are things I’m waiting on. Not yet
O is for Octopus. Isn’t it funny God gave animals eight legs?
P is for Pumpkins on porches, in pies, and in breads
Q is for Questions – the big and the small
R is for Remembering – the good times, the vibrant memories of love
S is for Silence. Deep breath. Slow down. Hear the pauses your breathing creates.
T is for Time. We think we have more.
U is for Underwear – a fresh, basic staple
V is for Vacuum lines on the carpet
W is for Walking in the evening before the sun sets
X is for Xylophone – everyone knows this
Y is for You – you have purpose, passion, meaning
Z is Zinnia – flowers linger while seasons wait to change
How can you turn your fears into gratitude today?
52 Beautiful Things 
Thanks so much for your list, Katie. It made me smile. S is for smiles unlooked for. I’ve been doing a gratitude exchange with a friend. At the end of each day, we email 3 things of the day that we are grateful for. Today was a harder day to come up with my list after getting bad news at the dentist, the temperature getting too cold to enjoy my evening walk, my lower back bothering me, and my instructor in Strong Women/Strong Bones shutting down my “too philosophical queries” about breathing and why we stop breathing in times of stress or fear. But I am learning that stretching to find something to be grateful for is … something to be grateful for! In each of these things I can easily grouse about, there is also a way to turn it into something also to be grateful for. Yay! And then your list showed up. Thank you!!