appreciate

Every once in a while, you meet someone in life who is a very special, generous soul. These are the people who are energizing and encouraging, gracious with kind words and advice, and thoughtful beyond words.

This arrived today from Hot Toddie Schoonover

In case the pic isn’t clear, it is a beautiful gift basket filled with Italian delictables: pasta, sauce, bread, Asiago cheese, biscuits, chocolate and.. wait for it… Wine, Nectar of the Gods.

Thank You Toddy… I feel blessed to call you a friend.

Happy Holidays!

Just took a major spill on my bike today. Wasn’t paying attention to the road, hit a huge pothole and went flying. Right side is pretty scraped up. My elbow might require some stitches.

So why am I appreciative?

1) I was wearing my helmet. I nailed my head pretty hard on the pavement and didn’t get so much as a scratch or a headache. Always wear your helmet, friends

2) I landed in the middle of the street. Thankfully, there were no cars right by me on this normally very busy road.

3) The community. When cars did pass by (about 30 seconds later), everyone stopped to see if they could help. And the homeowner whose house I crashed right in front of came out to offer assistance. Very nice.

4) All in all – I have only superficial wounds. I am in one piece. I actually feel pretty good.

I was pretty lucky today. Things lined up to keep me relatively safe. Very grateful for that.

:)

the world seems flat and single-dimensional.

It really makes me appreciate when life is robust and filled to the brim with peace, happiness and fulfillment.

- A beautiful, sunny day that reminded me of why the birds sing.
- A long, lovely walk/run on a hilly trail; blew the fog out of my brain.
- Love that envelops me whether I am sleeping or awake. It is always there and I feel it more strongly each and every day.
- The smell of freshly baked cookies; and the joy of knowing that they will be enjoyed by friends and family.
- My pirate hat, which makes me feel fierce and alive; two of the best feelings I can think of.

is the star of the week around here. He has come such a long way over the past year, it’s hard to believe he is really my kid.

Evidence:

Last night at parent-teacher conferences, three of his teachers (geometry, biology and language arts) said that he was one of their best students. And a pleasure to have in class. Seriously, we repeated our names for them so as to ensure they were talking about our kid. Yep. They were.

And to to think, just two years ago, we feared he was going to fail all of his high school classes.

Also, his first season of track started. I had to bribe him to join. He balked and procrastinated and complained for months leading up to this. This week practice started for 2.5 hours per day – 5 days per week! He is sore and tired. And oh, the blisters… poor kid. But despite a mild case of tendonitis, he made sure to go to practice today “to be with the team” and to do whatever running the coaches will let him do while he is slightly injured. I nearly fainted.

I am baking him cookies this weekend. He deserves them :)

My husband just called. It seems that there is a package for me at the the PO box.

FOR ME!
FROM CANADA!!
FROM MY MOST DEAR AND FURRY FRIEND!!!

_{heh, it’s chocolate, and not a moment too soon!}

::drooling, waiting for the package to drop into my lap::

I found this really cool version of an old Fleetwood Mac song Gypsy.

I am not exactly sure why, but the song makes me thankful for all of the wonderful things I have experienced in my life.

- My life has meaning and I recognize that
- Love continues to surround me; this weekend we had a family gathering. I have a great family (immediate and extended)
- The kids made me proud this week through their commitments and actions. These are terrific children (ok, one is a young adult but that is hard to wrap my mind around).
- I bought a couple of presents for myself this weekend. These are all about me!
- I am blessed with everything I need, and most of what I want. It’s good. Very good.

Things I appreciate about my life, today:

- certain songs that remind me of what it is all about and fill me with pure, absolute joy

- energy is flowing positively throughout every aspect of my life. The sun shines brighter, the skies are more blue. I am most definitely, happy.

- I am stronger today both physically and emotionally than I was a year ago. It’s an amazing feeling that spirals upward constantly.

- I am surrounded by wonderful, special people.

- I am learning to give more freely of myself to others, in both actions and vulnerabilities. It has a positive effect on me and them. There is great power in giving.