I am up and at ’em entirely too early this morning, after a semi-sleepless night filled with strange dreams in the moments I did sleep, so I can attend a day of adoption training. Not wanting to wait to start tackling my three daily goals until I arrive home around 6:00 pm tonight, I decided to type out a quick post before I leave the house. Sleepy and not really looking forward to the next 9 hours, I decided to focus on gratitude this morning.

• I am grateful I learned how to like myself without makeup. A few years ago, I was so dependent on makeup to make me feel like a decent human being that I felt like I had to apologize to everyone who saw me on the days when I didn’t wear it. I stopped wearing it completely for over a month in order to train myself to like my own face and now I can take or leave wearing makeup.
• I am grateful for my girls. I am very aware their presence in my life is a result of tragic circumstances in their own lives. But those circumstances would have occurred whether or not I was waiting on the sidelines for them to enter my world. So I focus on gratitude for their kindness, their wit, their love, their humor, and their simple being. They truly are magnificent.
• I am grateful for heat. The mornings have been cold so waking up in a toasty room is something I try not to take for granted.
• I am grateful for a relatively reliable car. By now, you’ve probably read the story of the man in Detroit who walked over 20 miles roundtrip to make it to his job. I know a reliable car is a luxury for so many people. It used to be something I could only imagine owning.
• I am grateful for Brian. He really should be at the beginning of the list because he tops every single gratitude list I make. I could go on and on about why I’m grateful for him, but I have to leave the house in a few minutes. Suffice it to say, I’ve never experienced the sincere, supportive, unconditional love he offers to me in any other relationship. He’s the light of my days.

I could go on and on now that I’ve started, but I have to put my shoes on and head out the door. I hope you all have fantastic weekends filled with at least one good surprise and lots of love!

Good morning!