Things I've Learned To Appreciate...

Here's a list of some things I've had a new appreciation for lately...

1) thank you notes
- sometimes it just takes one person to say a genuine thank you to brighten my whole day. It works the other way too - saying thank you isn't hard and can mean so much

2) red lights
- without them, I wouldn't have time to send text messages or eat cereal in the morning on the way to work

3) time
- time waits for no one, and it's really got a headstart on me. but I've been trying to make the best of my days by appreciating my life and all that I've had the opportunity to do

4) John Mayer lyrics
- seriously, try listening sometime

5) my health
- one of my best friends is fighting cancer...again. the girl cannot catch a break yet still has the best attitude of anyone i've ever met. I don't know how she does it - and I admire her more than she will ever know

6) reality tv
- yep, I know. How can someone appreciate reality tv? Well, I do. It's the one thing lately that can keep my mind occupied longer than 5 minutes and sometimes its nice to realize that maybe you're not really as crazy as you think

7) Barnes & Noble
- sometimes walking into B&N makes me feel like I'm entering a different world - a utopian society if you will: adults and children of all ages and races coexisting peacefully. the last time i went there was just to take a break from life and i realized that almost everyone else there was doing the same thing. while i was there reading, i took notice of almost everyone around me. and then i noticed that i wasn't the only one scouting the crowd. maybe we all need a barnes and noble therapy session now and again. maybe no one really goes there to read at all - but just to feel a bit more human

And thanks to a website Amy sent me, I have found this beautiful quote to share today:
"You have friends and family that love you. Learn how to be thankful.Think of all the things you have to be happy about. Relax, calm down, take things slower. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears. We cannot change the past, but we can enjoy today, and look to the future. But if we are prepared to take credit for the past and accept that everything that happened in our life, good and bad, has made us the person we are - the battle is half won."