It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted any thoughts or pictures or anything fun on this Commonplace Book I call my blog.

Unfortunately, I spent most of that time feeling pretty ill and being very under the weather.  I talked about being diagnosed with diabetes here, but thankfully that’s been under control nicely from diet and exercise.  The reason they found the diabetes though, back in April, was because for months I’ve been having issues with my breathing – my lungs keep shutting down, and none of the doctors are quite sure what the deal is yet.  SO – while doing tests to figure that out they found out I had diabetes.  As I said, I’m glad that I’ve been able to keep the diabetes in check, but the up and down roller coaster of recurring coughing/wheezing episodes has proven to be a bigger challenge.  A big recurrence of that about 2 weeks ago hit me hard, and slowed down everything in my life EXCEPT the doctor visits!  🙂

I’m doing better now, and we’ve got another, hopefully solid, plan to combat it.  Time will tell, and we’ll continue moving forward.

The thing for me, though, and the reason I’m writing this post today, is because it really has been a couple weeks of being reminded how much I have to be grateful for.  My wife, who is the strongest most supportive amazing woman ever.  My kids, who are the best.  My co-workers, who picked up the slack and said “Stay home and get better” and made my life so much easier.  My brother and sister who made me laugh the whole time, and my folks who have been  super supportive.  Health insurance, which has made this easier (although it’s amazing how you think “Oh, we’ve got insurance” and then still wind up paying thousands of dollars for things. I’m not going  to get into a Universal HealthCare rant here, though! I’m grateful it hasn’t cost us more.)

So, other things I realized that I’m grateful for:  Heating pads.  Cool washcloths on foreheads.  Good music.  Soup.  Tylenol with codeine.

Something I’m still LOOKING FOR to be grateful about: A replacement for coffee.  I am done drinking coffee, have obviously eliminated (or greatly trimmed) sugar from my life, and am avoiding artificial sweeteners.  So, I haven’t found a warm drink like tea with a flavor that I like unsweetened yet.

Ah, now I’m off and rambling.  Things are looking up, health is on the mend, my family is fabulous, the theatre is launching into Season 8 and it’s going to be terrific.

So, thanks to those of you who’ve already heard some of this and sent “Feel better” wishes – I am – and today my blog post is a simple request:

Look around.  Take note of things you’re grateful for, and take a second to appreciate them.

Happy Monday, y’all!