Freedom

Today I am grateful for freedom and those who protect that freedom. I have the freedom to vote.  I have the freedom to speak my mind. I have the freedom to own a gun. I have the freedom to listen to what I want. I have the freedom to pray how and where I choose. I have the freedom because someone put on a uniform, fought and perhaps died, to protect that freedom and for that I am forever grateful and truly blessed. 

Heart

Today I am grateful for my children. I love them more than they will ever know. I try my best to be a good mom to them each day, and while there are days I fail miserably….they never fail me.

17 – She made me a mom. She challenges me to be better every day. She and I are so alike but she is a much better version of me. She makes me proud every day. She fails to realize how deeply I love her.

14 – My curly girl. She makes every day an adventure and I am so blessed she is my child. She teaches me to see the world through very different eyes and I always learn/see something new.

13 – My baby girl. She is so smart and sassy and sweet. She is my sensitive soul. Her nickname of Queenie befits her in so many ways. She is the Queen of my heart.

9- My Little Man. My Little Prince. He was a gift from God and continues to shower me with blessings. He makes me crazy but in the end the smiles outweigh the insanity.

Saving

Today I am grateful for Daylight Savings Time. The extra hour provided today makes me feel like I can accomplish so much more in my day ... Starting with a bit more sleep!

I am also grateful for my dad....Happy 75th birthday to my dad, Walter Binder. He is the guy who taught me to love Sunday Bears football, a good book, good food, good jazz, and great wine. Here's to many more years teaching his grand kids about the finer things in life!

Heroes

Today I am grateful for first responders like my husband and many of our friends. They put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. Their jobs are never easy, the hours always long and the gratitude nonexistent but yet they do it anyway. They are the true heroes of this country.
God bless Captain Herbert Johnson who gave the ultimate sacrifice last night. Prayers for his family and all of the CFD.

Running

Today I am grateful for running. I am grateful to the man who first dared me to run a 5K changing the course of my life forever. Running has saved my life in so many ways allowing me to become a better mother, wife, friend, teacher and coach. I may not be fast but I am always moving forward. Forward is my pace.

Dark

I has planned to go to the gym today as I have been feeling fat and lazy. I got changed right after work and was ready for a good sweat. Life had other plans. Shopping for the key ingredients for my husbands winning chili recipe, dropping and picking up kids from all different locations, dinner, homework....it seemed that life had other plans so I gave up the idea of the gym for today.

I got home from my running around and walked in to find the dog dancing around the kitchen in her tell tale "no one has taken me out" dance. I asked the kids and was ignored so I hooked up the puppy's leash and took her out.

I was planning on just taking her for a short walk but she started to pull at the leash and gave me that "lets go, woman" look so I started a slow jog to the end of the block.

I rounded a corner and just kept going. She looked so happy breathing in the cool night air with her nose sniffing everything possible that it just made me smile. We went around the park and I was going to go home but my feet took me another direction. I knew the way.... I had run this route before and the puppy seemed to know where we were going. Each time we reached a point where we could turn to go home, I turned the other way.

It was dark....well as dark as it gets in the city. Growing up in the country you learn what DARK really feels like. This was not really dark but it was as dark as the city gets....Unless someone shoots out the streetlight. Living in the first neighborhood to use electric lights and named after Thomas Edison, I have learned that it is never really DARK. I have embraced the lights of night.

As I ran I was enveloped by the warm amber glow of the streetlights. I was overwhelmed by a sense of peace that I had not felt in a long time. I was running with no GPS, no iPod, no watch, no nothing. My phone was on silent and I forgot I had it with me.

I was with my puppy in the dark, leaves crunching under our feet and cool air filling our lungs. I breathed out the crap that filled my head, heart and lungs breathing in the cool air and fresh attitude. The sights and smells of fall filled my senses.

I arrived home 30 minutes after I left but it felt like I could have run for miles more. I walked into the house and was greeted by chores being done and kids getting along.

Sometimes we all need a little dark to appreciate the light.

 

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Gratitude

Gratitude is the best attitude. ~Author Unknown

During the month of November I will post one thing each day that I am grateful for. Just one item a day. By Thanksgiving I will have been reminded of 22 reasons to be grateful and 30 by the end of the month. Won't you all join me and live an attitude of gratitude this month?

Today I a grateful for coffee. It is the nectar of the God's on a day when I need sustenance to get me through the long work day and hours before I can call it a day. On a day when my students are sure to be either over sugared and still wound up or in a complete sugar coma, I am thankful for coffee to keep me going.