Day 86 of 365 - Year End Gratitude

Today I was out doing some of my usual weekend grocery and household shopping.  I noticed that the selection was more limited and that there were empty spaces and shelves.  Most of the holiday inventory that was added to aisles and end displays is disappearing, now at clearance prices.  Regular inventory shelves have not been fully restocked, probably due to some staff being on a vacation break.

This made me realize how much we take for granted that everything we want will just 'be there' when we arrive at stores to shop.  It's part of our instant gratification culture here in North America, but it is certainly not at all typical in many other parts of the world.  We are so fortunate with all the choices we have, but we also just assume they will always be there.

I felt grateful for the staff of the stores who are spending their shifts restocking the shelves for us.  I said a friendly hello to the produce manager at the grocery store, a man who goes out of his way to please the customer.

But, I also wondered about experimenting next year with doing 'more with less'.  As I prepared casseroles this weekend for our family holiday gathering here tomorrow, as usual I made probably too much.  My little fridge freezer is already full with leftovers, probably enough for our dinners for the next couple of weeks.  I hope my kids will take home some of tomorrow's dinner food if there is a lot left!

So, I am grateful for the abundance of good food and other items to which I have easy access where I live.

I will also be grateful for the opportunity tomorrow to gather and celebrate with my family.  It is not so often that we all come together now that our adult children have their own busy lives.  ( And, I won't be spending all my time in the kitchen, thanks to cooking ahead!)

This is just a short post today, and there may be more on this topic as these last few days of 2018 wind down.  I'm grateful to be here, and able to write something every day, no matter how little.  May I be more inspired tomorrow!

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