Gratitude.

It's sunday again, and after having a nice weekend with our Bulgarian friends Boni, I am sitting alone on the couch again.

My Principe is yet again in Italy for 5 days. The moment he had to leave our friends were still here, so the goodbye was not as intense as i'd like it to be, but ok.

I had some errands to run, like getting a new bike lock for Vittorio, and buy some cleaning stuff. Walking towards the bike shop, I texted Vittorio that beautiful days were just not that beautiful without him. 

After that, I went to Blokker to get the cleaning stuff. When I was walking around there, there was a dutch song playing on the radio that drew my attention. I never heard it before, but it was a woman singing that she loved it when here boyfriend left for a while because she loved missing him. 

I just googled it, and it's these lyrics:
http://www.songteksten.nl/songteksten/357948/claudia-de-breij/ik-mis-je-zo-graag.htm

"I love to miss you

it's ok when you go

because I love to miss you.

It's ok when you go,

because when you go,

I remember again how good it is

that you exist"

This song really turned my mood around again. Yes! That is the spirit. It's good that I miss him, because it makes me realise how good our relationship is and how happy he makes me.
I am grateful for everything he has brought into my life.
His positive energy, his can-do mentality, his neverending patience with my insecurity, the opportunity to travel a lot more, reading a lot more, enjoying a lot more.

Yesterday at brouwerij 't IJ he was running his fingers through my hair and carressing my neck and telling me every hour how beautiful I was and how much he loved me. How lucky he felt with me, how happy I make him. Ok he was tipsy, but I like to believe that this is when people speak the truth :-)

And now I'm sitting here on the couch, feeling nothing but extremely grateful to have found this amazing man. He is not only my lover, but also my best friend and my rock. 

It's funny, because when I go out now, of course I see goodlooking men. And I still get hit on quite often. But everytime I think: yeah, he's cute but he's not Vittorio. The packaging may look appealing but my man is the full package. The inside and outside is perfect for me. 

Gratitude. That is what I wanted to share today.

It's in the little things

Today was such a beautiful day here in Belgium! After weeks of rain, we could use some sunbeams. I enjoyed it by taking a walk and reading a book on a bench in the park. As I felt the wind going through my hair and the sun warming my face, I felt so peaceful and happy. Everything about that moment was absolutely perfect. I felt grateful. Grateful for the nice and warm sun, for the nice book, for my health, for my wealth, for my great family and friends and for my amazing boyfriend. 

I believe we all should build in little moments to appreciate what we have. I think nowadays the focus is too much on what we don't have. It doesn't make people any happier. A couple of weeks ago I read an interview with a 80-year old woman who said that in her younger years, all people cared about was how to put food on the table every day. The poor families of now are still richer than the poor families of then. Nowadays, we have so much and yet we are not happy. We always want more and bigger. Life became a competition of having the biggest house, the biggest car on the driveway, the highest position in the company. But at what price? Burn-out rates have never been higher. Therapists have waiting lists. More than 60% of marriages turns out in divorce again. We are never happy with what we have.

It made me think. I had to admit that in the past I was more materialistic than I am now. It is something that also my boyfriend thaught me. He is not a man of expensive gifts or jewellery and he absolutely hates bouquets of flowers. He thinks they are useless. In the past, I liked to be pampered with gifts from my boyfriends. But now, I prefer to have experiences rather than gifts. For Christmas last year, the boyfriend and I went on a 2-day journey to the spa. Just relax and enjoy quality time together. It was perfect. I wouldn't have wished for anything else.

My ex used to buy me flowers a lot, and I can't say that I didn't like it. But afterwards, when I found out he cheated on me for the entire relationship, I hated the flowers. It felt like he was trying to buy my love or forgiveness. Don't give me presents. Give me loyalty, honesty, real love. Appreciate me for all that I am, with all my perfect imperfections. If the grass seems greener on the other side, you should worry about watering and fertilizing your own grass.

And remember: it is in the little things.