Taking time to smell the flowers . . . .

I wasn't going to blog today but then I woke up and saw what a glorious day it was going to be and decided to take pictures of the flowers to scrapbook. When I saw how beautiful they were it got me to thinking how lucky I really am. Don't try to follow my thinking--it will make you dizzy (Flowers made by God--God please take away my pain--wait, God gave me my family--I should be grateful, etc. etc.)

Anyway, since I am an eternal optimist (which drives my mother and daughter crazy when they are having a tough day) I thought that I should try to take stock in what I have instead of the pain I am in. After all, I am on the journey to being pain free (see my post from Monday) so I should be grateful for that. So, today I am making a "grateful" list of what I am happy about today and, for all you pessimists out there, don't read it if you don't want to be happy . . .

1.  My family--however big or small, as they come and go out of my life, they will always be the most important thing in my life.
2. Queenie-she runs a close second and sometimes takes the top spot when I am mad at my family.
3.  My granddaughter, Olivia, graduates from 8th grade today and is, without a doubt, going places in her life. She is gorgeous, smart and just like her mother.
4. C & C-that's the twins. Christian and Claudia are leaving 4th grade and going to 5th. Each has their own personality. Claudia is impish, creative and will probably grow up to be a therapist. Christian is thoughtful, logical and lives for baseball.
5.  I don't have a tumor. Remember Arnold Schwertzenager in Kindergarten Cop--"It is not a tumor!" Anyway, I just need new knees. Get over it. It's not a big deal. A year from now I won't even remember the pain. (Yeah, that's what they said about childbirth!)
6.  I have a roof over my head. There are many in this economy that don't.
7. I eat three (OK maybe 5) meals a days. This is evidenced by my larger than life bottom. There are many that don't eat every day. I don't envy their skinniness.
8. I have a great job where I get to mold minds every day. I know that sounds a little lofty. Maybe I influence but don't mold. "My kids" are like my family sometimes. I know that in today's litigious world hugging kids is a "no-no" but that has never stopped me--hence my title of "Teacher most likely to get fired". They give me so much more than I give them.
9. I've traveled many places in my life. There was the para sailing in the Bahamas, the zip lining in Costa Rica, swimming with the Dolphins in Port Lucaya--wait--do I have a death wish???
10.  Finally, I get my summers off. I can sleep until 9 if I want, get up and leisurely have coffee, and read books all day if I want. Reading is my passion, only second to scrapbooking. Summer is the time I can do both.

And, best of all, I can take pictures of the flowers.

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