Forty-Three!

It's midnight, straight up...which means it's officially my birthday! I'm grateful for so many things that I thought I'd make a random list of 43 of them. First, a quote I like:

My cake from 2010. So pretty!

There is always room for more gratitude in your life - more room for you to express it, and more room for you to receive it from others. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. ~ Cicero Roman.

So, in no particular order:

1. Doc took a vacation day on Friday so he'd have some time to spend with me. HOTY*
2. Gator sets his alarm 30 minutes early every day, so he can come upstairs and snuggle with me for half an hour before he gets ready for school.
3. Bunch being such a great example for me. Since her thirteenth birthday over two years ago, she has never missed a single day of reading her scriptures (three chapters a night; two in the Old Testiment and one in The Book of Mormon) and writing in what she calls her Hand of God journal--a record she keeps to take note of the ways God has touched her life that day. She's inspiring.
4. I have so many really ridiculously wonderful friends. I mean, WHO HAS BETTER FRIENDS THAN ME? No one, that's who! Sorry to lump you all in together, friends. But seriously, if we're friends, you should just know you are amazing and I love you.
5. How cold and crisp the tap water is in the winter here. It's one of the things I love about winter (which, btw, is not a long list. #heatlover).
6. My neighbors are finally all lovely people and I don't hate going outside any longer.
7. The internet. It is a blessing and a time sink that I often mismanage, but I love it.
8. People who are truly charitable. And I don't mean in the "giving to charities" sense, rather in the 1 Corinthians 13 sense. I want to be like them.
9. Dear Really Good Books, I love to read and get lost in you. Please thank your authors on my behalf!
10. If anyone can share a better perk than my (paid) job comes with, I'll make you a batch of toffee. Those flight benefits are a thing I will ever be grateful for. NOTE: as of Nov. 28th this year, I have been a flight attendant for exactly one-quarter of my life.  That is crazy!
11. Music. Nothing else in this world has ever reached out and grabbed my soul and helped me just feel the way beautiful music does. I'm kind of particular about music because it affects me so much...can't handle stuff that doesn't have a good spirit about it. Kind of moronic in a way, but that's how I roll.
12. Hope. I'm grateful for hope's ability to help me and others carry on when things are hard or sad.  So hope, you deserve a gold star today! Thanks!
13. Health. Really Really REalLY! Is there anything worse than not having it?! You might think not having money is worse, but you'd be wrong.
14. Christmas cards. I am grateful for the mail every day right now, because so far we've gotten at least one card every time the mail arrives. So great to hear from people near and far. I feel all special and loved.
15. My sisters. They are my dearest friends. I miss them both pretty much every day of my life. There is simply nothing else like a sister.
16. My piano. It dominates 42.093581% of our livable space, but I couldn't live without it. Plus, bonus delight when my daughter and husband play it.
17. Random acts of kindness. I was the recipient of a generous one last month. What a lovely thing to be able to do something for someone that changes their life for the better! I hope someday I can really make a difference for someone else!
18. I just learned how to make caramel. It's beyond.
19. I still make amazing toffee. And cakes. This is a fun thing to do for others.
20. Hot running water. Okay, I like drinking cold tap water, but can you imaging if you had never experienced the luxury of bathing in hot water?  I feel so spoiled every time I'm in the shower or a hot bath, and think about the billions of people who've lived and died without ever having that amazing experience. I am a hot water LOVER! And hogger.
21. 24-hour Fitness gym membership. Somehow, even though I only go like once a month and am horrible about fitness, just knowing that it's always open and there for me if when I DO get off my duff and make it there is a great comfort to me. And they have a hot tub, too. (see #20)  I tried Yoga this week...3rd time in my life doing that. #feltgood
22. My therapist. Okay guys, seriously? What was I paying every other person I've seen in the past 20 years for? She has been helping me in so many ways. What a gift. I'm grateful she uses her time and talents to help people like me who have had hard things to sort through and heal from. Tender mercy of the Lord, indeed.
23. Blogging. I don't do it much these days, and I know Commenting Is So 2007! (for the most part).  But I still feel grateful for the people who read my patch of cyberspace, for the love and support and the friendships and insights I've gained from others, and how blogging has edified my life Lo These Many Years! 
24. Speaking of...I won a prize on a blog last month. I'm not telling what it is, but it was a good one and I intend to share it in 10 days! So yay! Grateful!
25. Libraries. I can't buy books...really, just almost none right now. So not in the budget. But I love reading and so do my kids. It's my favorite tax-supported thing.  Whoever invented libraries is a hero. I wish I were talented enough to do something like this to express my appreciation.
26. That color that the sky turns during sunrise or sunset. PinkyOrangishPurpley Gloriousness. Fills me with awe. Every time. (Okay, mostly sunset. See #36)
27. Gator's note thanking me for "Making his Kidhood such a happy one".
28. The mountains just east of my home have such a beautiful silhouette and shape. They're majestic!
29. Airplanes. Uncle Orville and Wilbur--I know that they'd have eventually been invented if you hadn't done it, but I just want to tell you that you guys are total rock ✰★✰★s!!!
30. Knowing how to make fun shapes with the keyboard like ✿.•*¨`*•✿.•*¨`*•✿ and  ♥
31. Opportunities to help other people in small, meaningful ways that they appreciate. As fun as it is to receive, it really is more rewarding to give than to receive for some reason. Seems like the joy lasts longer or something. I really do feel grateful when I make a difference for someone else in my own little way.
32. Opportunities to learn and grow. Sometimes these "opportunities" are really painful, but I do appreciate how they make me stronger. If they'd killed me, then I probably wouldn't be so grateful. But so far so good!
33. Cars that run. They're not fancy, but they're paid for and pretty reliable. And such a luxury, really. #canyouimaginewalkingeverywhere?
34. My faith. I know many people have little or no use for faith, religion, etc. in their lives. But I am who I am today because of the truth that I've learned (and am still trying to incorporate.) It is the greatest source of peace, hope and happiness in my life. Without it, I'd have destroyed my life a thousand times over with the idiotic choices and decisions I'd have made through the years. And when I HAVE made a mess of things, my faith has taught me how to turn things around again, and find that peace and happiness we all want. I believe in Christ, and I know he is our Savior, even for those of us who don't believe or understand why we needed one. And I'm very grateful for this.
35. The lights everywhere this time of year. Can't we all just agree to leave them up the entire winter?! Because I could probably learn to like the colddarkdreary months more if we did. They make me happy and make everything seem better. So thank you to everyone who puts lights on their homes. It's a sweet gift to strangers and friends alike.
36. Every morning, even if I'm still sounds asleep (which has been the case 94.3729% of the time), Doc and Bunch both come hug me before they leave for the day. Sometimes I know they're in a rush, but they do it anyway. (Bunch has her first class at 6am, so she leaves in the dark before the dawn). I'm an owl by nature, but wish I were a lark!
37. Good teachers for my kids. If someone gets to spend all that waking time with my darlings instead of me, then you can bet that I'm completely grateful for teachers who care about and nurture their minds and souls with wisdom, kindness, patience, creativity, beauty, inspiration and general niceness. Just being NICE to kids can make such a difference in a life! And mine both have great teachers this year.  #Winning
38. Things that make me laugh. Don't you love a good belly laugh?!
39. Discovering that a new food that I previously didn't like is now something I enjoy. Latest addition to my palate? Butternut Squash Soup. Who knew?!
40. Frienships with older people. Tonight my 89 year old cousin (okay, her mother and my grandfather were siblings...so,1st cousin once removed?) called me. She is such a darling, and we talk every 2-3 months. It's been one of the delights of my adult life to have a few dear older women "adopt" me and reach out. A year ago this week I lost my darling Alice, who was a grandmotherly figure for me my whole life. I'm excited to attend Georgiana's 90th birthday celebration next summer because I haven't seen her in 14 years. What a gem of a person. I want to be like these dears ladies in many ways.
41. Travel. Wait, you think I already mentioned this? It's different than flight benefits. I want to see SO many places. It makes me so happy to ponder the things I've yet to experience in this great big, amazingbeautifulwonderful world.
42. Rocks, Trees, and Water. Am I weird because I just love these things? Whatever. I have simply been enchanted by the colors, patterns, scent, shapes, majesty and power of them, and all they provide for us. I am RT&W Fan #1. (Yes, I am weird.)
43. Here I am at 43. What should this final slot contain after this random list of stuff? Really, I think I must end with my gratitude for gratitude. Meaning, that feeling that fills you up to the tippy top of you, all cozyhappywarmandlovely when you allow yourself to really be grateful and quiet inside. It's the best feeling I know, and makes me want to try harder to be a better me. You get that, too, right?!

Here's to another 43 years!

*Husband Of The Year. In recent polls, he is the frontrunner for the title.  

Wait, you're STILL HERE?  You mean you read that entire list? Wow. You are even MORE amazing than I even realized! #fivestarblogbuddy