10-26-2012 Pizza on Friday

I was going to just say Friday but also thought about pizza.  Tonight was pizza.  It was actually just a frozen cheese pizza, then I added some more toppings (including a little bit of backyard sweet basil).  It made it feel like Friday.  It was a good evening with the kids.

I'm grateful for pizza on Friday.

10-25-12 Doing Something

Sometimes there is a lot that you could be doing, a lot that you should be doing, a lot that needs to be done.  It can become overwhelming and you can end up doing nothing.

It's at those times when doing something, no matter small is infinitely better than doing nothing.  When I don't have time to work out, I do a workout called my "better than nothing workout".

When I don't know where to start on a project, I do something, and that's all that it takes - even if it wasn't the 100% best place to start.

I didn't know what to write tonight, so I decided I would just write something.

Doing something is at least existing, and that's at least the first step to really living.

So, tonight I'm grateful for doing something.

10-18-12 Squirrels

They are full of life and always up for a visit to the kitchen window.  There is a bottle brush bush just outside the kitchen and one or two squirrels on any given day will show up there to say hi.  To get there, they run along the white fence which encloses the backyard.

Or, they can hop a branch to get onto one of the two oak trees and from there jump onto the screened lanai.  When the dog is watching, he has a job to do to make sure the squirrels know they shouldn't get too comfortable.

I'm grateful for these furry friends when they come over for a visit - which is just about everyday.

10-17-12 Backyard Basil

There are just a few things growing in the garden in the backyard (or at least what is left of the garden).
There are three raspberry bushes, an old hot pepper plant, a few flowers, and a basil plant.

I put the basil plant in there one weekend just to fill some space.  One weekend, when serving up leftovers I cut off some leaves, cut them up and tossed it with leftover spaghetti, olive oil and garlic powder, my son loved it.

I had some more spaghetti tonight and repeated the leftover recipe for myself.  Just the act of walking to the plant, cutting the leaves and then adding it to the leftovers made a huge difference.

That one little plant which is now pretty big is something I'm grateful for.

10-16-12 Detours

This morning on my way to work, the road was blocked.  A firetruck was parked across the road and the cars were directed onto another road.

So, I went to work a different way, it took a little bit longer.  Sure, the detour was inconvenient, but I still arrived at work.

What if there were no detours when the road was blocked?  Yes, I know, pretty absurd.  But still, a detour is better than the alternative, which is to either be stuck at the road block or give up and go back to where you came from.  I'll take the detour.

And because that was a choice, I'll be grateful for the detour.

10-15-12 Remembering that Miracles can Happen

Two things happened as I ran this morning.  I started out feeling slow and creaky, I couldn't seem to get any sort of bounce or flow or anything like that.  But, I've been through this before.  I knew that if I kept on going for 2 or 3 miles, my way of thinking would change.

And it did change.  I remembered that miracles can happen.  I've seen small miracles happen.  Those times when things just turn around for the better.  They happen when you least expect them.  This means they don't happen all the time, so you can't always count on them, but you can't count on them to not happen either.

This one thought changed my outlook (at least for a while).

I was grateful to have remembered this.

10-12-12 Breakfast With Dad

One more chance to have breakfast at my school's son.  Things change over time, but we can enjoy these moments while they last.  My youngest one is growing up fast and has a little under one school year left before he moves onto the next school. 

Breakfast was good with eggs, pancakes, juice, coffee, and sausage - just about everything.  It was a good chance to be there with my son, and take in the sights of the school and where he eats lunch each day.

The last time I came for breakfast was toward the end of the last school year.  There were many uncertainties ahead, both good and bad which have come and gone.  There will always be those things to worry and wonder about.

But, this morning, it was just about sitting down and having breakfast, being there for my son so he could have breakfast with dad.  I'm grateful that I was there for him.

10-14-12 Changing Seasons

It has finally started to turn more and more cool each morning, although the days still warm up nicely.  The days are getting a little bit shorter and there are those very subtle clues of Florida Fall, not as dramatic in the north but still there if you look around.

Without the seasons time flows together, but with these changes that come every year at the same time we get reminded.  I look forward to these changes and try and appreciate them by taking part somehow.

For the little things that go along with the seasons and the reminders they give us, I am grateful.

10-11-12 again, for this blog

Once again, I am grateful for this blog.  The fact that I had not posted since last week was scratching away in the back of my mind.

I think it really helps to write something down that you are grateful about. Thinking about it is good, but writing it down is so much better.

I think of the nights I have sat down to write an entry, and on weeks where I have been good about this, at the end of the week it somehow seems just a little bit better.

So, once again I am grateful for this blog.

10-4-2012 Grateful to be Alive

For an instant, I thought there was a chance I might die.  Ok, that was the worst case scenario and I knew I had some time to get help, but still.  I grabbed a plum and took it back to my desk.  Took a bite out of it.  I don't think I lodged an actual piece of it in my throat, it might have just been the juice going down the wrong way.  But, I could feel it stuck and I went to take a deep breath but only made a gasping noise.  I did this several times and it just wasn't clearing out.  There was no one in the office next to me but there were others in the building.  I started to get out of my desk and was wondering if I could make it down the hallway in time.

Just as I was getting up, it finally cleared and I was able to start breathing again.

It seems like a silly way to go and I was probably no where close to dying, but not being able to get your breath like that really makes you think.

Another reminder that makes you feel grateful to be alive.