I Am Alive

I fell asleep reading and realized I missed posting Day 6 by a few minutes! Today I am thankful for my friend AL. She is always there for me when I need her. She knows me very well and always gives me good advice. She always makes me laugh…she seriously is one of the funniest people I know! She’s intelligent, thoughtful, strong, a great mom, strong willed, and beautiful inside and out. She has my back and I’m thankful she has come back into my life after many years apart. I don’t know what I would have done without her support the last couple of months…she’s been the best friend ever.

Today I am thankful for new beginnings…God has a plan for me, I’m ready.

(If you are looking at these pictures on a smart phone they might appear to be upside down…on the computer they are right side up…I am not sure why and I apologize!)

I am realizing that it is going to be IMPOSSIBLE to just name one thing per day this month that I am thankful for…I am TRULY BLESSED.  So…I might have a daily list of thanks 🙂

Dave Matthews Band – I read a post this morning asking “if you could let a friend who has never listened to DMB before hear 3 of their songs, which ones would you choose?” That is almost impossible for me but with much thought I would probably say  1-#41 (part of the inspiration for the name of my website-it is NOT because of my age). 2-Mercy (it is a newer song and Dave is spot on…it is going to take all of us working together to make a change in this world). 3-Two Step (This song can be interpreted in many ways…but my favorite lyric of all is “Celebrate we will because life is short but sweet for certain”).  My list could go on and on really.  This band has inspired me for almost 15 years now and I am so thankful for finding them way back when.  I have had SO MANY amazing experiences traveling to see them in different cities.  The people who have gone along for the ride are part of the unforgettable memories…and the friends I have made because of my passion for this band I will cherish forever…because they “get it”.

Family – And in particular today…my niece Erin.  She and her friend drove here from PA to visit her Pappap (my dad 🙂 )for a very quick visit and I got to see her today for lunch.  I am SO GLAD that she made the effort to come.  She knows that time is precious…and she wants to have as many memories as possible and make the effort to visit her Grandpa and I think that is just amazing…being that she lives about 650 miles away.  The people you love are what truly matters in this life and I know that she “gets it”.  I seem to be using that term a lot today 🙂  But it is a good thing.  She is an adventure seeker like myself and I see a lot of me in her.  Today I am thankful for my niece who is 25 and ALIVE and although I do not get to see her very often I admire her and love her dearly.

Sonic cheesecake bites – Okay this is a silly one!  But thank you AL (formerly known as “Anna” here) for turning me on to them.  Deep fried cheesecake??? Oh yes!

Today was a great day!  🙂

 

 

 

I am making today count and for that I am truly thankful!

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for lazy Saturdays 🙂  I did absolutely nothing today except watch tv and lounge with my cats.  I managed to go to the grocery store this evening and make myself some dinner but that is about it.  I do not do this very often…I think the cool rainy  weather is partially to blame and I do not have a problem with that!  Clocks move back one hour tonight…one extra hour of sleep tonight to complete my “laziness”  woot woot 🙂

This month I am going to attempt to make an entry every day to express what I am thankful for…there are so many things I do not even know where to start!

I will be honest…have not had the best week.  I was not able to face something I thought I was ready to face and I let it get the best of me on Monday.  My spirit went downhill from there.  Time does heal all wounds though.  But sometimes you just cannot look back at all.  From here on out I am living with purpose and I will do my best to only look forward.

I say my week wasn’t the best only because I let my emotions control me.  I did accomplish a lot regardless…and I was able to have some fun.  I had dinner with my friend Shan on Monday…at an amazing little diner I will be frequenting a lot more often now!  I met with another friend Wednesday…a “little ray of sunshine” as I like to call her…and saw her new house and we had some sweet tea and shared some laughs.  Thursday I completed a travel article I have been working on and submitted my application for a writing contest.  I felt a great sense of accomplishment regardless if I get published or not.  And today I met Anna at the gym in the afternoon and I met Shan for a movie this evening.  I had a busy week and although I didn’t feel at my best on the inside…I pushed through.  I am doing.  I will be ok.  I am alive.

Tonight I received a sweet email from someone I miss a lot and am saddened that I won’t be part of her family anymore due to my marriage ending.  She reminded me that this is a month to give thanks and that is what has inspired me to write about what I am thankful for every day this month.  Today I am thankful for family.  Even those who I am not related to by blood or not even by marriage anymore.  The people who have stuck by me and have not chosen sides.  The people who love regardless of choices made by others by which they have no control over.  They haven’t abandoned.  They just love.  They are the sweetest people I have ever met and they know what love is and I am thankful to have been a part of their family for the last year and a half.  Even when things seem bad…there is always something good if you look hard enough.  Today I am thankful and honored to have been a part of their family if for only a short chapter in the book of my life.  They will always have a special place in my heart. (Love you MJ and K)