40 Things I am Grateful For Now That I'm 40

Today is my fortieth birthday!  YAY!! 

This is a play off my 39 Things I've Learned in 39 years posts.  But now I am the BIG FOUR OH!  So I thought for my birthday today I would share 40 things I am grateful for 😁

Let's go!!

40 Things I am Grateful For Now That I'm 40

1. My amazing 2 teenage boys.  They are sweet, kind, and perfect just the way they are!  I wouldn't change either one.  I loved them as babies & children, love them as teens, and eventually will love them as the wonderful men they will eventually become.  Because of them, I became who I was born to be.   I don't feel like my life really started until I became a mother.  And with these two dudes?  I am the luckiest mom in the world 💜
2. My superhero of a husband.  He's my perfect match, the love of my life, and I am sooooooooo grateful we found each other (in a local ghost hunting yahoo group, of all places!).  If I believed in destiny (which I am not opposed to believing in it), I would say he's my soulmate 💙
3. My beautiful furry family (if I could name them one by one, I would!  But we'd be here all day!).  I am grateful for every single second they get to be with us.  My only complaint is that I just wish our pets' lives would be as long as ours.  
4.  Being forty.  I have lots of friends and classmates that never got to reach this age.  When I blow out my candles this year, I will blow them out for all of you who didn't get to come this far (many didn't even get to reach adulthood).  Tom.  Jesse.  Chris.  Callie.  Dexter's brother.  James Robert (Jimbob).  John.  And dear Susan (she got to be forty, but she took her own life a few years ago and left a hole in my heart).  I am ever so grateful that I am lucky enough to still be here.  
5. Having a decent roof over our heads.  So many people are homeless, but we are lucky to have a nice place to live in an okay neighborhood.  Where we used to live, people used to drug deal in front of our house, so I am grateful circumstances were open enough for us to move here.  
6. Having a vehicle that works.  Paying off our last car payment was momentous!  And our car is awesome and fits all of our dogs, plus all the people!  So, I am very grateful for that.
7. Money.  I am grateful for every single penny that enters this house.  This past week we had to live on loose change that we found around the house, so I am 100% grateful for every single cent we can use when we need it.
8. Gravity.  The Sun.  The Moon.  The Earth's rotation.  And all that sciencey stuff lets human life thrive and continue and be created in the first place.
9. Smart people who share their knowledge of real science.  I used to be someone who believed that GMO's were bad and that vaccinations could have caused autism.  Turns out, I was 100% wrong.  Because I found these people who are willing to share what they know with real science data to back it up, I am now a much more educated person.  And the information is out there, you just have to be willing to be open-minded and have your views challenged.
10. Knowledge of narcissism.  Had I not learned about this (meaning, if nobody had shared their stories online), I'd still be stuck in a cycle of abuse with my mother.  But because of these wonderful people who are brave enough to reach out to strangers with blogs and FB pages and the such, I now have a better life (as does my family).
11. Blogger.  Without Blogger, I'd have no outlet to share my own stories and to create my own websites.  I can't afford to pay the fees other sites charge, and Blogger is an amazing platform that rocks!
12. All my body parts work.  So many people out there are missing body parts or have issues with their body, and while I have some issues, I am still pretty damn lucky to have everything working and attached!  
13. Our ecosystem.  Everything works in such a  balance.  It's so amazing!
14. Videogames.  Because duh.
15. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.  All my favorite shows, all the time!
16. Medication.  Because humanity can last longer with it!  And more comfortably 😊
17. Flowers.  The world with be so bland with their gorgeous colors.
18. Music.  If my soul could speak, it would tell you it was made of music.
19. Movies.  I love movies!  I love being transported for a couple hours to another place and time.  Not to mention my hubby is a screenwriter, so I love to see actors act out words that he put to paper!
20. All my past relationships, friends, and otherwise (both good and bad).  They have made who I am today.
21. Art.  Art is eye candy and it makes my soul happy to look at it!
22. Art supply stores.  Being an artist, this is one of my all time favorite places to shop!
23. Opportunities to further our lives (and the drive to do so).  My dad felt stuck doing his job, even though he hated it.  Life doesn't have to stay the same, change is always a choice.  And the world we live in right now is full of opportunities.
24. Cell phones.  I have severe anxiety and I don't know how I would cope without my phone!
25. Other humans who are willing to do things I can't or won't.  Like doctors, and mechanics and garbage collectors and stuff.  Without everyone's expertise, what would we do? 
26.  BOOKS!  Books are my LIFE!  Check me out in Instagram at The Bookwhore!
27.  Bookstores.  Other than being a place to put #27, they are just peaceful and amazing places to relax and fill up your cup!
28. People who let me pet their dogs!  Because I looooooooove dogs!  I am always grateful for a friendly dog and a friendly dog owner.
29. Nature.  I am a nature gal 💗  I am most at home sitting by running water, with trees around me and the birds above. 
30. Computers.  I use my computer blog, write fiction, and everything else!  Whoo hoo!
31. Food.  Cause without it, we could not survive.
32. Cookbooks.  Because without them, I would not know what to do with #31!
33. Resale Shops.  Because used is not only cool, but necessary so we don't keep generating more trash!
34. Homeschooling.  Both my kids have been homeschooled most of their lives and it's amazing how much more they retain than they would had they went to school.
35. Lawn gnomes.  I am so obsessed with these guys that I even paint my own!
36. The ease in which I can buy things I need in this country.  So many other countries have nothing available and people have to make due with sub par items.  Like, toilet paper.  I am very grateful for toilet paper LOL
37. Youtube.  Because without it, I couldn't fix anything around my house!  This falls under the item "Access to Knowledge".  I am just particular to youtube because of how easy and accessible it is.
38. Love.  It's what makes up the universe at its core.
39. Walking barefoot in the grass.  As kids, we are always barefoot.  Now, it's a treat to be able to slip off your shoes and feel that cool grass between your toes.
40. Kind deeds.  Once, a woman bought my son a book I could not afford.  Just because.  Kind deeds make you feel good and make the world a better place.

What are are some things YOU are grateful for?   I'd love to hear about them, so share them below!