Today Tammy and I are reflecting on all we have to be grateful for. There is so much I could go on and on. Good thing we are limited to only 40! A disclaimer - these are in no particular order.
1. Bryan - I got lucky. :-)
2. Alex - ditto.
3. Sam - lucky again!
4. my parents, who dared to raise 12 kids and lived to tell about it. Along with this, I'm grateful to have been raised in an intact family.
5. all of my siblings, in-laws and nieces and nephews. I am truly rich in extended family connections.
6. friends near and far
7. books! I love books. I can't imagine life without them.
8. music and especially the experience of having played in so many orchestras and groups.
9. my piano, even though it's not "real."
10. our church community
11. a great job that I truly like, most of the time
12. a warm and comfortable home
13. views of incredible mountainous beauty around me all the time!
14. contact lenses. Without them my eyes would disappear behind very thick glasses
15. having family here in Utah for the last 4 years. Truly the BEST experience, and I still marvel at God's impeccable timing.
16. Costco :-)I really like a lot of their stuff.
17. health and the energy to work out and be active with my kids. Truly priceless. I wonder if I would be alive today if not for antibiotics?
18. really good in-laws. I got lucky again!
19. family vacation every summer at the beach or the mountains
20. chocolate
21. variety and availability of so many kinds of good food. In the history of the world this is truly remarkable. Of course, I'm sad about certain aspects of the agriculture industry...but that is a subject for another post!
22. our used Toyota Prius
23. the Salt Lake City and County libraries. So much great free stuff!
24. our fireplace which warms up the downstairs and makes it so cozy
25. freedom - religion, the press, speech - not that our country is perfect, but when I look around at the rest of the world I realize there are a number of things we do right.
26. the feeling of total body well-being I have after working out
27. sleeping all night (most of the time now). After residency and 2 babies this is a treasured gift.
28. the smell of freshly brewing coffee in the morning
29. Barnes & Noble, which I wish wasn't a chain, but it has introduced me to legitimate blessings - like my church and my good friend Nancy
30. Mazza!
31. the Book of Common Prayer
32. N.T. Wright
33. genetic luckiness in terms of being able to eat a moderate amount of junk food and not gain weight, as long as I work out.
34. being finished with school forever, especially residency, and with tests except for written boards every 10 years
35. the feeling of being very alive and growing spiritually these days
36. a bit of exposure to foreign languages - Spanish, German, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Korean - not that I can speak any of them, but it makes me feel richer to hear them and know a few words
37. birds at our birdfeeders - chickadees, bluejays, woodpeckers, finches. Oh yes, and the two finches who reside over our front door all winter.
38. the ability to know so much (which is still so little) about the universe - it is wondrous - galaxies and black holes and red dwarfs and so much we can't even fathom. It beats thinking the world is flat and the sun is rotating around us.
39. medical school. I bear the scars, but it enriched me and opened up doors for me.
40. fluoride toothpaste and Fantastic Sam's shampoo and conditioner.
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