It's Gratitude Friday again...

First of all, I'd like to ask everyone who reads this post to pause for a moment and say a prayer, think good thoughts, send good vibes, etc. to my friend Stormy and her family. Her mother is having some serious health difficulties and needs as much grace as can be offered up.

And since Friday is my day to reflect on the things I am grateful for, I must say how grateful I am for Stormy, and her hubs, Ryan. I had the opportunity to work with both of these guys when they lived here in SLC and I just love them both. Stormy has been instrumental in helping me work through some really hard times in my life. She is a wonderful listener, an incredible friend and has amazing insight into the things that are important in life. Her presence in my life is a huge blessing.

Ryan, her husband, is also a great guy. He is one of the wisest, most emotionally mature men I have ever met. One thing that I admire about Ryan is that he lives his religion and is very spiritual without being a pain in the A*$ about it. Whenever I try to describe Ryan, the words I use are "gentle Giant", and since Ryan is about 6 foot 5 inches, this really fits. I love Ryan for many things, not least of which is his passion for heavy metal hair bands and his love of all things Mac. He's such a nice guy in so many senses and together he and Stormy have a marriage that I really, really look up to. I'm so thankful to have these two great people in my life.

This week, I'm also very thankful for a job and a life that provides me access to good pediatric care. Riley received her 6 month immunizations this week and that always provides for a fun couple of days. This week, however, she is also cutting a tooth and has a cold, so it's been a triple whammy for her. She has been so grouchy and has not slept well since Tuesday and it's been rough. The nice thing, however, is that we have an amazing pediatrician who is very responsive to all my needs and questions and can talk me out of my paranoia very well. We LOVE Julie. I also have a few friends who are pediatricians and having them available to answer questions, check on Riley, and remind me that everything is normal and that we will get through this has been really helpful in keeping my sanity this week. I recognize that not everyone has this kind of easy, open relationship with their child's pediatrician and colleagues, and I am very grateful for it.

Finally, I am thankful this week to have found Sandra, my new cleaning lady. She was recommended to me by a friend of mine from work and it's a huge load off my mind to have someone who can help me with this. I have struggled with hiring someone to help me with my house for a while, always telling myself that it's a small condo and I should be able to keep up with it and I need to take care of what's mine,etc. . But then I took a hard look at what my priorities are and where I spend my time and I realized that I HAD to get some help. I work full time at a very demanding job, I am raising a child alone, I am working hard to take care of myself and my needs, I want to spend as much time as possible with Riley, I am writing a lot these days...of course I need a cleaning service. SO here's to letting go of misplaced guilt and getting things taken care of.

As always, I have much to be thankful for in my life. It's really good for me to take time on Fridays and pause to think of the good things I enjoy. It puts the little annoyances and problems into a clearer perspective and keeps me optimistic about my life and the decisions I've made.

Happy Friday!