30 Days of Gratitude....

I warned you that I'd never post "gratitude" everyday.  So not happening....obviously.  With out further ado....here are #5-7


#5 - My ability to read.  I love to read.  Love. Love. Love.  I love to sit with a book and escape from reality.  I sometimes get lost in a book and suddenly realize it's 3AM or that there has been no dishes or laundry done.  It's hard to do dishes and read at the same time - believe me I've tried.  It seems silly to think about reading considering YOU can do it.  But what if you couldn't? You wouldn't be here on my blog that for sure.  And what a sad existence that would be.  Even if I'm not totally engrossed in a novel, I like to read other things too.  Reading opens doors to a wealth of knowledge that we would otherwise be exempt from.  Reading helps further your vocabulary, your writing skills, comprehension, and problem solving skills.  Reading really is awesome!  I am grateful that I can read!

#6 - I spent all night dreaming about item and writing this piece of the post....Drill team.  That's right.  I am grateful for the time I spent on the drill team in high school.  I was on the drill team.  I was a Tigerette and darn proud of it.  We were good.  Not just good, awesome!  We were State, Region and National champs.  We worked hard and we were athletes.  No sport was more committed, worked harder and was closer to their team than we were.  In my dream I could hear my good friend at the time, Lisa Ekstrom, calling us onto the floor, "5,6,7,8...LEFT. LEFT. LEFT....."  It was quite a vivid dream.  It did remind me of what this experience did for me.  It helped me enjoy high school for one.  I really didn't like it until then.  It helped me discover who I was and what I was capable of.  During those two years, I felt talented, confident, and thin.  Sometimes I pull out the pants I used to be able to wear and I think, "My gosh, I couldn't get half my body into these pants."  This experience gave me confidence after high school too.  Even though no one else cared that I had been a Tigerette, I knew that at one time I had pushed myself mentally and physically far beyond what I once thought possible.  Now that I am 10 years past the the "good ole' days" I no longer need that experience to remind me that I can do something.  I did however, need the reminder to get me through some very tough times right after high school in those first few years of college.  So, I am grateful for drill team. **Sadly, the printer/scanner is kaput.  I don't have any digital copies of the Tigerette days because this was before digital photography.  When I get that fixed I will dazzle you with a wonderful picture of me in high school.  I know you'll wait with bated breath.

#7 - Today, I am grateful for the chance to go to bed and wake up to a new day.  I am grateful that each day I have the chance to do better. All I try to do is better. I'll never be perfect.  I wouldn't presume to be.  I just want to have a better day or at least do something a little better than I did before.  That doesn't always happen.  Heck no, it doesn't always happen.  I'm human for the love of Pete.  Especially after yesterday, I am glad to wake up and have a new day where the sad things, the ugly things, and disappointments have faded away with the dawn of the new morning.  And on that note, let me say, I have found that it is just fine to go to bed mad; mad at the world, mad at whomever.  In the morning I always have a new perspective.  I'm not as tired, and I have refilled my patience canteen.  I can now deal more effectively with whatever it was.  I am grateful for each new day and second chances.