A Moment of Gratitude

Earlier this evening I was thinking of all the things I needed to do.  There were so many things that I didn't think I even had time to write them all down.  Hours later and many of those things done (and a few of them added to tomorrow's list) I decided that I needed to spend a few moments on all I am grateful for today.  So, in no particular order....

1.  Joe's successful surgery: He is feeling so much better and is so much more himself.  He is healing nicely and is doing most of the daily things fairly well.  He has a regiment of stretches he needs to do daily and another follow up appointment in a month, but if you compare where he was a month ago to now...it is amazing.

2. A finished kitchen:  I am sure I will do a more complete post on this sometime soon so I can show pictures, but today the contractors put the finishing touches on the kitchen.  There is still some work to do in the other rooms that will have to wait until the contractors come back from their grandmother's funeral (She was 100 years old!), but right now I have a stove and oven to cook on, a sink with running water, a dishwasher to make cleaning up easier and a new frig complete with ice and water dispenser.  What a relief!  I am SO ready to cook this week!

3.  A day off with Taelin without a huge "to-do list":  While I had a huge list of things I needed to accomplish, my day off with Taelin today had very little "to-do's".  We did go grocery shopping, that included a pre-shopping stop at Starbucks, and did a few loads of laundry, but we also read a giant pile of books, made some adorable art (using a half of bottle of liquid glue), sang songs, played with babies (she named one after our contractor), built and tore down Legos,  and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.  It was brilliant.

4. A relaxing and rejuvenating day with friends: Sunday I spent a day playing with paper, laughing with  friends, and eating AMAZING food (which I will pay for dearly at my weigh in).  Joe spent the day with Taelin (they went swimming at the Kroc Center) and it was so nice to be able to enjoy a carefree day even if it resulted in a huge list today.  

One of my favorite quotes: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, and stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie.