I Woke Up Like This

Grateful to my core.

I feel like gratitude has been the buzz word for a while now. To me, it hasn’t hit me in a real, genuine, game time smack in the face until this morning. Don’t get me wrong, I feel grateful when I think about my family, my home, friends and career, but this was different.

I’ll try to make a long story not so long, but bear with me. As I headed to the neighborhood park to walk my dog, it felt more like a chore and something I had to do so that she would be worn out and not beg to go outside every 10 minutes. Three laps usually does the trick. Just as we were finishing the third lap, I met a caregiver with her adult patient, in her wheel chair, sitting and enjoying the beautiful day. Maggie instinctively veered in their direction and calmly approached the woman in her wheelchair. The smile on this lady’s face was huge, genuine and priceless. The caregiver explained to me that she could not speak or control most of her muscles but that dogs made her genuinely happy. She thanked me for coming over to visit and allowing them to pet Maggie. Wow! Something so simple made this woman’s day. And, here I am bitching about who knows what in my head. Things like, I need to lose 5 pounds, I want wallpaper or drapes in my house, eating healthy seems like a lot of work, etc.

Later that evening, I stumbled across a movie called Father Stu. Another story of someone healthy as a horse that had a rare disease which slowly caused him to lose control of his muscles. He was a professional boxer who was forced to retire. Something he took for granted was suddenly fading into the night. Father Stu had to learn a new way of living and ended up finding God via a hard core press effort to get a girl.

Sunday morning, as my eyes peeled open, I felt genuinely grateful that I can move my body. How cool is that? If I want to get out of bed, I just do it. If I want to do yoga, I just do it. If I want to or don’t want to take Maggie to the park, I just do it.

As a cherry on top, I am grateful that I am able to share this story with you!

XX,

MG

TEA IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD