Gratitude

Today was a typical Monday morning. I forced myself out of bed when the alarm went off, feeling sad that the weekend was over (already). I made myself get in the shower immediately to wake myself up or I would no doubt burn up too much time staring into space (heaven help me if a stray magazine caught my attention). I fed the animals and was contemplating my piece of toast when I saw the clock and had to rush through getting ready so I could get in the car and petal-to-the-metal to try to get to the office on time. I was dragging myself from the parking lot towards the building when I saw, up ahead of me, a youngish guy in a maintenance uniform. As he passed under a tree, he jumped into the air and touched the lowest-hanging branch. His whole demeanor showed joy. My first thought was, good grief, that's way too much happiness for 8:00 on a Monday morning!

Then it hit me ... maybe he had been out of work and he just got this job. What joy there would be in getting a job at a wonderful place like this, with benefits and the great people who work here. Even if he hadn't been out of work, maybe he knows someone who is, and he's grateful for what he has here.

And so should I. How can I be grumpy about Monday morning when I have a job as great as this one? Plus I have a wonderful family that loves me (hopefully most of the time) and great friends who stand by me and listen to my complaints and love me in spite of the fact that they know me very well.

God forgive me when I whine ... I have this life, the world is mine! Even on a Monday morning.