Attitude of Gratitude #20

Today I'm thankful for:

Shirts that Fit

A few years ago I bought two shirts from Kohl's that were a little on the snug side. I really don't know what my thinking was. Part of it was probably denial that I was getting big. Maybe I thought I would get down enough to fit into them. Or maybe I liked that they were tight and showed off my "muscles." Well...I didn't really wear them all that much because instead of getting fitter, leaner, and smaller, I started getting bigger. We've had this discussion before. Well, I saw one of the shirts in my closet today and decided I would see if it fit. Lo and behold! It fit! Perfectly! And I now have the muscles that I wanted to be able to show off in that shirt. Woohoo!

 

Freedom

I started reading Ally Condie's book Matched which is a dystopian/totalitarian (all the rage right now thanks to Hunger Games) society that pretty much tells you how your life is going to be lived. The whole premise is based on being matched to who you will have to marry. The Society links you with someone your most compatible with, tells you what job you get for life, and even tells you when you're going to die. I would go crazy, and I'm kinda going crazy reading it which, I guess, is kinda the point. Reading this book, even though I'm not that far into it, has made me realize how grateful I am for the freedoms I have and that I take for granted. Some societies out there act a little like the one in Condie's book (not to the extreme) and I'm grateful I have the choice of what to do with my life, who I can be with, and how I'm going to do everything. Oh how I love America! Even when our economy is in the dumps like it is right now it's still a pretty awesome place to live. 

 

Music

I love how music can change emotions, heal, bring joy, calm us down, and give us a form of expression when words fail us. I have heard that "We sing because we have no more words; we dance because we cannot move." That just means that these artistic expressions allow us to convey things that words and motions can no longer do justice to. I love music in most of its forms and I'm grateful for its power in my life.

Happy Independence Day!

The above image taken by my good friend, Matthew Mellor.

I celebrated Independence Day by going on a date! We drove up to Rigby and had a Bambino. If you don't know what a Bambino is then you are missing out. It is pretty much life-altering just by partaking of this delicious morsel. Now, we went up to Rigby just so we could also go to Riot Zone, the local miniature golf and family fun center. By the time we got there, however, they were closing early for the fireworks show in Idaho Falls.

It had been 10 years since I had seen the Idaho Falls fireworks, and I thought it would be a fun date which it turned out to be a great idea. We trudged through the crowds, found a parking spot, then walked along the river until it got dark and the show started. It was spectacular and a lot cooler than I remember it being. My friend, Tianna, says that fireworks "tickle the cockles of [her] heart" and I can see why. You could feel the rumble of the popping explosions in your chest along with a swelling of emotion and love for our country.

I drove my date home and we actually escaped the crowds pretty quickly. That is until I left her house and there were several other people taking the same back road I was going to take.

All in all it was a great time. I love this time of year where we can reflect on our freedoms and the people that made it, and continue to make, it possible for us to live the way we do. However, it seems that the word "freedom" has become skewed to mean something more akin to "entitlement." I'm not a fan of people who feel that they are owed something because we live here. Part of the beauty of our American heritage is that we work hard for what we get. You cannot just sit by and let the government take control of everything. By feeling entitled to certain privileges we are, in fact, losing those freedoms. As government gets more power, we lose our voice and that is not what our founding fathers wanted.

So, on this 4th of July, think of your freedoms and decide now to fight for what you have and not let them be taken away. Make this a year of a change in perspective. I love this country and do not want to see it put it in a hand-basket and sent off to Hell.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!