"What's Next?"

Last year, I gave myself (and other’s) this challenge:

This Valentine’s day, don’t just tell the people in your life “I love you.” Tell them “Thank You.” Tell them thank you for sharing part of your life experience with you, for the lessons they teach you, and for the love and light they bring to you.

In that spirit, a short and incomplete list of things I am thankful for in this moment:

• my fantastic family: parents who are hilarious, caring, giving, forgiving, and love unconditionally; a brother who is an overall amazing person and always makes me laugh; and a huge network of cousins, aunts, uncles, and my grandparents who always have my back.
• amazing friends, who care, smile, make me laugh, and are hugely generous of spirit in dealing with me when I am not at my best (which is often)
• my job, and the great people I work with and for
• the corps members who I serve, who are a study in grace, strength, and grit as the pursue the best education they can for our kids
• the feeling of the breeze coming off Diamondhead and into my window as I wake up
• being consistently bathed in sunshine
• yoga, for pushing me, challenging me, and showing me to love my body when I had to stop being a runner
• peanut butter (no reason needed, clearly)
• finally, my awesome God and father. For loving always, with such an amazing magnitude that I can’t even understand, and for consistently raining down blessings and grace.

I am so blessed. Happy Valentine’s Day.

“Recently, I’ve come to realize that one of the best ways I can show love is to tell someone that I’m thankful they are in my life…”

That’s how I started off the entry in my Gratitude journal a few nights back, one of the daily journals I (try to) write in each night.

So, for this Valentine season, I decided to spread the love in my life with a bit of thanks. I sent out thank you cards to some of the people that have just been there for me this past month, or just been a big/important/special/caring part of my life. They weren’t well written, and there weren’t nearly as many as them as I could give out (I have strangely small hands and bad penmanship, so my hand gets tired pretty fast). Still, I just wanted to let them know that, no matter what, they meant something to me. I hope it brings a smile to their day when they get it.

Anyway, I wasn’t even sure if even I wanted to post this, since patting myself on the back about it was absolutely the opposite of the point of this exercise(I was worried it would come off a little “Let me be AMAAZZINNNGG at you.” (- Tina Fey, Bossypants)). Definitely not my intention.

However, I really liked the idea, especially for those searching for meaning in the day. I just thought I’d put it out there as a thought:

For this Valentine’s day, don’t just tell the people in your life “I love you.” Tell them “Thank You.” Tell them thank you for sharing part of your life experience with you, for the lessons they teach you, and for the love and light they bring to you.

Every day, I’m so lucky that I have these people, all my friends and family, in fact, to make me laugh or to take care of me. I am consistently so blessed, and they are a very big part of why.

Sadly, someone I love who will not be getting a card will be Cat. I do pick him up like the big baby he is and cradle him at least twice a day though, so hopefully that makes up for it.

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Anyway, it’s been a rough weekend. Expect to see a post about losing a great man and father figure to me, Fr. Fred, at Corpus Christi. I have no doubt he’ll be moving on to great things and get to transform the life of another parish, but I’m a bit heart-broken to see that part of my life end change.

In spirit with what he taught me, though…

To any of you that might stumble on this blog this season: blessings your way, light your way, and remember, above all, you are loved.