Friday

I am grateful that today is Friday and that after a hard week of work, I can finally relax for a couple days with my wife. I am also thankful that she has the weekend off, too! It's been questionable with her schedule, but now we can hang around the house and take care of ourselves. We'll have some chores, checking in on the garden, mowing the lawn, but it's all contributing towards bettering our home (plus, we get to relax as much as we want). And it all starts with dinner and a movie!

Thank you, Friday, for rewarding all the hard workers in the world by giving them a couple days to rest and recuperate (even though their "Friday" fall on a different day of the week—for those who work weekends). Thank you that I may spend time with my wife and simply enjoy her company. It's important to work, but it's also important to cherish the time we have with our family.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date.

Physical Activity

(photo as it appears on: https://www.haikudeck.com/physical-activity-education-presentation-ZF2TeSmYSH)

I am grateful for all this physical activity I've been getting lately which has been integrated into my daily routine. Sure, I feel more tired and I don't always look forward to biking into work when I wake up early, but I also feel more physically fit and more in tune with my body after having done it a while. A morning bike ride, a more physical job, and an afternoon ride home (during which I usually push myself a little harder to get these legs in better bike shape) have all upped my overall activity level, which my body needed anyways.

When I was in school, running around and playing sports was always a given. But now that I've up and flown the coop (and have for a while now), my health and exercise are entirely up to me. I have to be my own mentor and tell myself, "You'll thank me later," which isn't always easy to do. But here's to trying, and here's to a happy, healthy life.

Wife Lessons

I am grateful for the various ideas and perspectives my wife has exposed to me during the course of our relationship. Only by hearing how others speak who have not yet been exposed to them do I realize how much I've grown because of her. I am a better person for knowing her and for that, I thank her.

New Bike

I am grateful for this new bike I started riding this week. By new, I mean eighteen years old. But it's new to me. There's been some rough terrain I have to cross trying to get to work and my road bike just wasn't cutting it. This super sweet mountain bike, on the other hand, is surely capable of handling all the sand, mud, potholes, and anything else that might be thrown at it. So thank you, bike, for enabling me to get to work and to go on little adventures. And thank you, Craigslist seller, for being a friendly, older gentleman, with whom it was a pleasure to meet. Tonight we ride!

(photo as it appears on: http://index.weldtite.co.uk/reviews/view/dirtwash-g-strings-and-bike-cleaner-spray-dee-fry)

Sunset

I am grateful for the brief sunset I got to see as I walked Roy down to the bay. Beautiful yellows, oranges, pinks, reds, and purples. I didn't get to see the sun itself, as it had already dipped below the horizon, but it's hard to complain with the waves lapping at the shore on such a beautiful day.

Thank you, sun, for rising and setting everyday and sharing your light show with us. Thank you, Roy, for encouraging me to get up and go on a walk every once in a while. And thank you, jogger, for recognizing Roy as "The Sweater Dog" and letting me know you had been looking for him when he was out exploring.

(photo as it appears on: http://michaelzphotography.com/buy/sunset/)

Loving Wife

I am grateful that my wife loves me enough to learn how to make coffee even though she hates it. That's love.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

I am grateful for the amazing things people are capable of when they put their minds to it and focus their will. It is absolutely incredible what we can do. Last night, I watched some good friends (and musicians) play a show. Fingers flying, melodies singing, harmonies walking—beautiful, concerted talent. I've tried playing the violin. It's hard. As a beginner, I make sounds I didn't think were possible on an instrument and it's not pretty. But up there on the stage, the violinist was flying along the fingerboard, drawing his bow with ease and rocking out that beautiful instrument. He started out just like me—slowly, painfully, and probably exasperated at points. But he kept practicing, fine-tuning his slowly-increasing skill set until finally he could stand up on a stage and leave people in awe of his talent, i.e. hard work, dedication, practice, etc. And this is true of all the musicians on that stage. And this is also true of every single endeavor we as humans dedicate ourselves to. We are capable of so much should we only commit to working through the tough spots and being willing to suck at it for a while. The only way to grow is to reach up.