Gratitude List March 10, 2013

What am I grateful for today? The list is long, but here are a few of my favorite things today.

I'm grateful I didn't have to wear a winter coat today. I anticipate I'll wear it again tomorrow and I was wearing a long sweater over a turtleneck sweater, but I was without a coat today.

I'm grateful that today's precipitation was rain and not snow. Mid-March in Chicago can be pretty iffy. I'm ready for Spring. That's not to say this was was difficult. It wasn't. In fact, it was another pretty mild winter. It was never brutally cold and I think it was mid-January before we saw our first inch of snow, but I love Spring.

I'm grateful the 2013 Ravinia schedule is out. And it's divine. I'll spend some time in the next week studying it and purchasing tickets for the best shows. It's going to be a great Summer.

I'm grateful for brunch with my friends Tim and Michael today. Tim and I worked on our 20th reunion planning. Yes, that's right. It's been 20 years since we graduated from Lake Forest College. What a 20 years it's been.

I'm grateful for dinner tomorrow with Tim and Michael. Thirty-three years later, we're going to once again learn the answer to the important question: Who Shot J.R.? As you probably know, Larry Hagman died earlier this year when midway through shooting the second season of the new Dallas. There's really no better way to kill J.R. Ewing. I think it's either Kristin or Kristin's daughter. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read this.

I'm grateful for my friends who always check-in with me to make sure I'm okay. I'm also grateful they are so damn funny and keep me laughing.

I'm grateful for a clean house and two kittens who do everything in their mighty powers to ruin that for me.

After reading an article in the New York Times today about how people are letting their lives be controlled by their stuff, I'm grateful each day that I have a mortgage less than half of what I qualified for and that I never worry about being able to pay my bills because I live within my means.

I'm grateful that not only have we successfully sold Nana's house in Crystal Beach, but as of Friday, Dave and I also sold the lot she and my grandfather purchased many many years ago. We sold it to a man who is eager to build a home for him and his family. I wish them all the happiness in the world.

I'm grateful for my great insurance that allows me to sleep at night knowing that if I have any medical issues, they will be covered and I won't be bankrupted by them. I'm also grateful my thyroid disease is finally being treated and that the medicine to treat it has no side effects. Eventually, I'll feel better. So they tell me.

Although it made "springing forward" a bit more difficult today, I'm really grateful for the very long late night conversation I had last night with one of my best friends. I love the conversations we get into late at night, even when it means we're both dragging the next day.

As always, I'm grateful for my family. Yes, they're a bit crazy, but they're my family and (most days) I wouldn't trade them for anyone else's. Truthfully, I don't think my family is any crazier than anyone else's. Well, mostly. Still, I'm incredibly grateful for them and I love them a whole lot.