Gracy Gracious Grace.

1. The way Vinnie stretches his head up just before he barks – he looks like ET.
2. The awesome reliability of Hondas.
3. Fresh concrete.
4. My neighbors’ windchimes.
5. How I can judge the level of Boris’s exhaustion by how tightly he curls himself into a ball to sleep.

GIST (heretofore known as grace in small things)

1. DVR. Seriously.
2. Picking up books at the library and being so excited about them I can’t decide which to read first. Speaking of library books,
3. Our county library system. Speaking of the library system,
4. Their used bookstore with the catchy name (that, btw Mr. Zoo, is having their GINORMOUS quarterly book sale on March 21 – please make a note of it). Speaking of used books,
5. Bookmooch.

Grace.

I caught wind of a blog movement a few months ago – it’s started by Schmutzie* and is called Grace in Small Things where the challenge is a daily recognition of The Positive in your life – and it coincided with No. 7 on my list of January 7th resolutions, which I found meaningful. I decided to really make a go of making a daily list of things for which I should be grateful. Immediately following this decision, I realized it’s not as easy as it sounds and I promptly did nothing about it. Because, if you think about it, it’s difficult to think of FIVE things EVERY day. I mean, I’m assuming I can only mention chocolate once. I totally buckled under the pressure – assumed that I wouldn’t be able to succeed at it so why bother even trying, as is my wont.

Then last night I talked to one of my best friends. To say she’s had a rough year would be a ridiculous understatement. Through all of her life turmoil, though, she’s been able to keep things in perspective, and her boys’ health and well-being the focus. She is thankful to have a reasonable mortgage and gas in her car. She laughs at the absurdity of her life and makes jokes about how she doesn’t want to be handed any more lemons because she’s out of sugar. She insists on me telling her about my life because she’s a caring, compassionate friend. I’ve always known how beautiful she is (and not just on the inside – she’s one of those women who have no idea how attractive they are so they’re pretty and nice) but last night I realized how wonderfully centered she is. And I know I can learn a lot from that attitude. (Especially considering that during the two darkest times of my life I did healthy things like withdraw into myself, get burnt out at work, and literally – twice – crawl into bed in the middle of the day and pull the covers over my head.) So, I put a small notebook in my bag, and I’m going to attempt Grace in Small Things to see where the journey takes me. I may not have five every day, and I probably won’t post them here every day, but I’m going to do it.

For today:

1. The way Boris looks when he sits. The way his back paws curve inwards makes him look like an innocent little puppy.
2. A couple of dinners in the fridge and a clean sink.
3. Organized books.
4. The pure genius that is How I Met Your Mother.
5. Chocolate. :P

* Schmutzie also hosts Five Star Friday (see also: Intrepid Tuesday) if you are looking for new and interesting blogs out there in the webisphere.