Day 16,195

(From my photo archives: 12/21/05)

APPRECIATING ...
The time spent with my sister, niece, and their wee-huahua, Leo, last week as my sister recuperated from surgery. I was the official company-keeper and holder-of-the-fort. There was a lot of tea drinking going on. (Stash peppermint tea saved the day in keeping nausea at bay.)

CELEBRATING ...
Week 1 of the test launch of my feng shui e-course. Everything has been coming together so smoothly and the lovely pilot group has been so supportive. They are providing excellent feedback that will help to make this program even better when it is ready to be launched publicly.

BASKING ...
In the "wishiness" of attending Jen Lee's Integrate: Voice and Story Retreat in NYC, April 10-13. Yes, I guess I've been making a lot of retreat wishes lately ... a sign that I am sorely in need of some creative restoration and renewal. As much as I would love to attend Squam by the Sea in October, a dear friend will be in town from California at the same time and I do not want to miss her visit. Jen's NYC retreat will, in many ways, be a lot more feasible for me to attend. Besides, I have never been to New York City before, unless you count the layovers in 1985 when I was on my way to and from Italy. Yeah. You're right. Those don't count. It's too soon to know if I can commit to this trip, but I love basking in the juicy what if's.

SAVORING ...
Sunshine today! We only caught a mere whiff of the storm that blasted the East Coast. Despite the big deal made in advance, our snowfall came to a mere three inches. Okay, maybe four. Only two hours north, they are dealing with five times that much snow. The sun today should help it to melt in time for another front to move through on Tuesday. This doesn't bother me as much with bright blue sky in between.

PRAISING ...
My daughter for keeping her chin up for her basketball game today. I won't go into the gory details here, other than to say that we all know what it feels like to go into a situation with the odds stacked high against you. It is easy to wonder why we should even bother. But part of growing up and being that grown up is taking a deep breath and showing up anyway. Sometimes in life, despite being scared and feeling desperately ill-equipped, we have to rise to the occasion. We need to pat ourselves on the back more often when we do, if we aren't getting those pats from others. Simple bravery in our day-to-day lives is bravery nonetheless. Go forth and be wonderful, whether anyone else recognizes it or not.

What is making you feel most grateful today?