Every morning when I wake, I put together a mental list of things I am grateful for.  I will admit that some days it is very difficult to come up with even one thing I am grateful for.  Those are the days that I have to ask myself, “is it really that bad Sandy?” My answer is usually, “No, not really, but it will be if you don’t get your butt in gear and get to work!”  Probably not what you expected, but it is really what I say to myself sometimes on those days.  So, while I may not come up with something to be grateful for at the moment I am trying to, I do eventually think of something.

I find that on a daily basis we all tend to take so many things for granted.  We let grief, work problems, relationship problems, or money problems overshadow all the good things in our lives.  We focus too much on our daily to do list and anticipating problems we might encounter during our day.  Seriously, who wakes up in the morning and thinks about all the things that could possibly go right during the day?  I know I don’t, and I suspect most of you reading this don’t either.  If you do, then please let me know as I would love for some of that positive mojo to rub off on me!

Some of the little things we take for granted might be: you can get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other (many can’t), you have a job (many don’t right now), you have a reliable vehicle to get you to your job or maybe you live close to a bus line, the sun is shining, your computer is working and there is not an IT guy on his way to your home, your spouse / significant other / family / friends are healthy (this is a huge one in my book!).  I could go on and on and I am sure you all could add many things to the list.

I think the most important thing to be grateful for is:  There is somebody, somewhere, that loves you and is there to support you no matter what the day ahead brings. So, pick up the phone, send a card, email them, text them, Facebook them or tweet them and let them know that they are one of the special people in your life.

There are a lot of things that go right on a day to day basis.  Try to focus on those things instead of what might go wrong and maybe we will all begin to have better days and have an attitude of gratitude.

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.  ~ Cynthia Ozick

Oh how we hate to admit to getting old.  We do everything we can to avoid it.  We lie about our eyesight and buy the cheap cheaters at the drug store instead of going for an actual eye exam and getting prescription glasses or worse yet bifocals. As women, we indulge in wrinkle creams for our eyes, necks, face, etc. and of course we color our hair to cover up the gray.  Even men are in on the anti aging market with products such as, “Just For Men”.  Do we not realize what a privilege it is to get old?  To grow old with the one you love?

TJ’s life ended at the age of 49.  He didn’t have the privilege of growing old.  I don’t get to grow old with him.  When I see an elderly man in the grocery store or at the gas station I frequently think of TJ.  What would he have been like if he had grown elderly?  Would he have been like the grumpy old man I saw in the grocery store the other day?  Would life had dealt him some blow(s) to turn his happy go lucky attitude into disdain for his fellow man?  Maybe.  But, I think he would have been more like the elderly man I chatted with at the gas station just a few days ago.  He was filling up his truck next to me and we immediately struck up a conversation.  We talked about the weather and other mundane things but when I drove away I felt as though I had just made a friend.  TJ always made people feel that way. Everyone liked TJ and his zest for life was contagious.

Growing old is a gift; something we should not be afraid of.  Yes, I believe it is a privilege, a privilege that too many are denied.

Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. – Francis Bacon