Blessings from the week

“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.”
-Brother David Steindl-Rast

• Being able to “work from home” Tuesday morning, so I could run some last minute errands and finish packing before we left for Louisiana.
• Playing the “baby name game” (for imaginary babies!) all the way through Alabama and Mississippi. We could settle on several boys’ names, but girls’ names are another story.
• Giggling with my youngest cousin, Laura, as she played with the puppy, as she snuck chocolates, as she played Mad Gabs with us… as she did basically anything.
• Eating at all of my favorite dining establishments in town: TacoMania, Strawn’s, Raisin’ Canes, and Gatti’s Pizza.
• Celebrating Thanksgiving dinner at the country club—not the best meal I’ve ever had, mostly because the mashed potatoes lacked my special touch and because there was no pecan pie. But there were also no dirty dishes, so I can’t complain too much.
• Running (or jogging!) the whole Turkey Trot with Rob, with only one sub-one-minute stop right at the end.
• Convincing my teenage cousin to emerge from the text-messaging world she lives in to watch a movie.
• I was able to get 4 new pairs of “school” pants at New York and Company on Black Friday. Pants that fit, are comfortable, look professional, and could be hemmed by my mom before we left to go home.
• Raiding my old bedroom for cute decorations and books that I had forgotten about.
• Chatting and catching up with my dad’s side of the family.
• Georgia Tech beat Georgia. Hasn’t happened in 7 years. Enough said.
• There’s no better way to learn “why I am the way I am” (or for Rob to learn it) than attempting a big project with my family. This year for her birthday, we offered to help my mom paint her bedroom (and hallway). A big task, but we were able to get much of it complete. The best part… pushing all of the furniture back into place and bringing Mama in to view the final product.
• Waking up from my road-nap to find that Rob had stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch because he knew it would be a special treat.