My Birthday Gratitude List

I am grateful to have arrived at 36! I am grateful for this life that I have been given! I am grateful for the life I have made!

I am grateful for a lovely day that began with tennis and ended with tennis.

I’m grateful that Alissa came in to Brooklyn to play even though we were rained out after 15 minutes and then for spending a lovely day together with my oldest friend (36 years!).

I am grateful for a day that felt easy breezy filled with baking a cake and brownies, cleaning the house and taking kids to tennis after school — my day ended with dinner for 11 people (ordered in!), fun singing in my crazy house — we’re all nuts!, and a game of tennis for myself at night. Tiring but happy and luxurious.

I am grateful for wonderful gifts from my parents — a beautiful leather jacket that came 18 years after it was supposed to (private joke! — I was supposed to get this leather jacket for my 18th birthday but back then I never found one I liked after much searching. We tried again at 19 and then at 20 and then gave up as something that would happen when it happens. Since then, every time I open my gift from my parents, no matter how small the box, I joke and say “Is it a leather jacket?” Well, today there it was in all it’s Andrew Marc glory. I laughed out loud for many minutes!!) and the piece de resistance — a beautiful framed photo of me and my dad doing one of our first dances together in 1981 (I was 9!) with part of the lyrics to The Times of our Life, a song that we have danced to through the years, photoshopped into this beauitiful collaged image. What a special gift! I have searched for that photo for years and when my mom finally found it hidden in an old desk, she decided to present it in such a meaningful way. What a treasure!! THANK YOU MOM! You outdid yourself!

I am grateful my mom thought to use the heirloom photo services of www.honeybeememories.com. Thank you Melissa! xoxoxo

I am grateful for getting an important document out today (I600A that technically should have been in already but perhaps was sent in really at the right time for our family) that felt special to be sent on my birthday as it helps me towards our goal.

I am grateful for feeling the fear and doing it anyway!

I am grateful for looking over right now at a beautiful photo that Carolyn took of my kids and framed as a surprise for me for my birthday. I need to frame more photos — it makes me happy to look at this image. Imagine a whole wall of this!

I am grateful for plans to fill my walls with photos of my life and joys and family in Pottery Barn style gallery frame collections.

I am grateful for feeling better again.

I am grateful for the sweetness of Pillsbury Funfetti cakes.

I am grateful for Facebook connections and fun.

I am grateful that Jennifer takes amazing photos of our families together.

I am grateful that Eden has a best friend. How adorable she and Kaitlyn are together!!!

I am grateful that Emma is loving school and is the class monitor, a job she is proud of.

I am grateful for email dialogue with Emma’s kindergarten teacher in which she now signs off “Mary.” We’re buddies 😉

I am grateful that tonight Emma was feeling upset and maturely asked me and Gary to have privacy with her so she can have a “discussion” about what is bothering her. We’ve come a long way!

I am grateful for all my friendships, my wonderful family and husband, how lucky I feel to have you all in my life. I will steal the phrase from a couple of people I know who have used this recently — “I hit the jackpot!”

I am grateful to know that I don’t have to make waves. Sometimes I just gotta “give up and let it go.”

I am grateful to know that I would not have been given the dream without the ability to achieve it.

I am grateful for my now 2x weekly tennis lessons which have been a huge enjoyment for me, more than I ever anticipated.

I am grateful to know that my 37th year will be one that I will be proud to own — in so many ways!

I am grateful that I commit to fitness and eating well!

I am grateful to know that this is the year I make things happen.

I am grateful for the safety and health of all whom I hold dear.

I am grateful for my family of four — for all that I am, all that I have and all that is yet to be!

Goodnight!
Steph