Reminders

I could have easily caused a traffic accident today. A blind man crossed the street using his walking stick, and while my light was red, I watched him find his way around the sidewalk, feeling for the edges. Even after my light turned green, I had trouble tearing my eyes away from him.

Yesterday at work, a seemingly normal girl around my age walked in. But when I greeted her (enthusiastically of course) with the customary, "Welcome to Pinkberry!" she tapped her finger to her ear, the international sign for "I can't hear you!" I was about to say it again, because as a theatre major, this is typically a sign that I hadn't been loud enough. Then I made the connection. It's not that she couldn't hear ME. She couldn't HEAR. Through a serious of hand gestures and pointing, I swirled her yogurt, topped it off, and handed her off to my co-worker, Chris, who rang her up.

Twice now I have seen a man on a busy corner in downtown Fullerton, strumming away on his guitar and singing into a microphone. Wearing a t-shirt, running shorts, tennis shoes, and sunglasses, he looks like the guy next door throwing a barbeque. A sign next to him says "Dad with two kids LAID OFF."

I needed these moments. Each served as a reminder of things that I normally take for granted that I need to be grateful for: my ability to SEE, my ability to HEAR, my job, my parent's financial support.

I'm grateful to be healthy. To see. To hear. To walk.

I'm grateful to be employed. So I can support myself.

I'm grateful to have support. Because I can't do it all on my own yet.

I'm grateful for my friends. Far away and nearby, old and new.

I'm grateful for my family. When everyone else is a variable, they are constant.

I'm grateful to be in school. Because I love learning.

For my bed, indoor plumbing, chocolate, dryers, dance, Target, medicine, carpet, sunshine, bonfires, and music. And the list goes on...