10 things grateful, plus a coupla graduations 🎓 | #gratitudeandshit

We’ve got two graduations in three days.

I’m not talking those horseshit half-graduations for third graders, either. Full-blown, leaving this school, taking my game to the next level graduations. Hayden’s done with high school and on to college at Piedmont International University.

Camdyn’s coming to Queen’s Grant High, where I can’t wait to get her on the field.

They’ve both overcome adversity and adverse conditions but found ways to shine in big ways. There’ve been tests of will and tests of character and just a butt load of tests – like, on subjects. We’re ready to get this summer on.

There’ll be shenanigans and Shanghais and lots of streaming The Office. There’ll be new jobs and dorm move-ins and summer workouts. I’m grateful for the milestones, to be here for them, and to be so connected to a couple of the coolest kids I’ve ever met.

What about you – what are you grateful for today?

Our cat’s namesake!

1-A desire to better me. I get frustrated and feel hopeless and then I remember to trust the process. I remember the big picture and figure out ways to figure out my obstacles. And those little wins feel like they’re clogging up to become big ones.

2-People who read this blog. Traffic ebbs and flows. Readers come and go. All I know is that if you’ve visited and liked or commented or just visited, I appreciate you. To have a forum with you, to read your words too, that’s the best part of blogging.

3-Others’ purpose and my involvement. A website. A project. An upgrade in soccer skills. Ask yourself how can I help? Plenty have helped me. Plenty still toss roadblocks on my path. The more energy I give the former, the less power I give the latter.

🎼Come with me / my love 💌 / to the sea 🐚 / the sea of love 🌮 🎶

4-Friends who get excited about writing. I love this bond! There are a couple of you who’ve faded a bit … let’s reconnect when it’s time. I hope the wheels still spin for you. I hope the will still drives you.

5-Solitude not by choice. It’s one thing to isolate yourself. To pause, reflect, meditate. It’s another when it’s not by choice. Do you fight it and labor to fill the void? Instead, embrace it. That quiet time is a gift and it won’t last forever.

6-Madison. My first kid changed me. After an interview for a feature today, my subject asked for parenting advice. I told him all about daddy/daughter dates and how that bond – and the expectation you set for all me in your daughter’s life – begins with dad.

The Prince of Peace – as a Funko Pop.

7-New perspectives and connections. David, the guy I interviewed today, is a gem. So is the mom of three who asked about a sleep mask and earplugs. (How’s the camping trip?) As is the new world I’ve found in coffee shops. And in coffee.

8-A cold beer to numb the pain. Careful. But at the end of a tough day, it can be a delicious reward. Start the day with coffee, sustain it with Coke Zero, end it (occasionally) with a low-priced bottle from Trader Joe’s. Score.

9-Coworkers like Carson and Nick. We get a lot of turnover in Target tech. Being hands-on with Apple and Bose products tempts the devil in many of us. These guys, and Nate, don’t bow to that. They’re good guys, good friends, and do good things.

10-A caffeine lift that keeps me going. It was a brimming cup of Americano today. Some days, it’s an ill-advised drink mix. Or a freshly-popped 20-oz. Coke Zero. My trick: Down a handful of caffeine, then take a 25-minute nap.

You come back as a Jedi, I swear.

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