Count your blessings - January 2024

1. Celebrating the new year with friends
2. Hanging out in the east of Belgium
3. Getting visitors over there
4. Epiphany: singing 3 kings with Beertje in the neighbourhood and a group of other children
5. Being in the east of Belgium when nature is beautifully frozen
6. The ski hill in Ovifat open with snow canons for sledging but nobody is aware so we were there almost on our own.
7. Being in the east of Belgium with snow again...sufficient snow for a morning full of sledging fun. wow that had been a while. 
8. Being able to work from home when also Flanders gets a load of snow and local roads get unpredictable
9. Ploughing for 90' through fresh snow in Leuven to go and pick up Beertje from a friend  and spotting sledging and playing people everywhere in a gorgeously transformed landscape
10. Anxiety medication
11. Understanding management
12. Still calm times at work for the team, coping with the workload despite multiple sickness absences 
13. School closure dates that are ideal for a short get-away
14. Seeing my boys pick up ski lessons with ease and them being adorable on their little skis on the ski slopes
15. Sitting at a mountain restaurant top in the sun in only a sweater with clear nearby view on the Mont Blanc! 
16. French saucisson
17. Having some moments on the ski slope myself where I actually think to myself, "Look at me sliding here, I can do this". 
18. Cheese fondue Savoyard
19. Reading more again
20. A very child-friendly restaurant where our curious children looking into the kitchen, were invited in the kitchen to prepare their own dessert with the chef.
21. Multiple friendly passers-by coming to my rescue after my bad fall when I couldn't move any more on the ski-slope.  They got me help, kept me company, showed empathy and worry and were genuinely so warm and reassuring. 
    
22. Medical insurance when being on a ski-trip. 
23. Being able to walk in a brace without crutches, which made the return home less of a logistical nightmare. 
24. Meeting my Australian host sister in Switzerland again after 10 years and spending an easy-going afternoon together. 
25. Helpful colleagues, other parents, neighbours, giving help in getting the children and myself to places now that I am going to be just limitedly mobile in the coming weeks/months.
26. A regional meeting with colleagues with a nice dinner out in Leuven.

This is a monthly list of simple things in my life that make me happy or that make me smile.  

As the world often seems full of negativity and disaster, I want to pay attention to these small things that make me happy in my daily life and be grateful for them. You can find all of them via this link