five ways in which i am blessed

I've been kind of down lately -- although I've been trying to keep it out of my blog because, man, nobody reads a blog to get bummed out.

["What are you doing tonight, dude?" "Well, I was feeling just a little too happy, so I thought I'd just stay in and read Kate's blog for a while. Then, I'll probably either drink or cry myself to sleep."]

And while I'm not here to please you all, I kind of am, so why not be honest about it?

ANYWAY: my point tonight is to shake off the poop and tell you five reasons why I am blessed, and ask you to share any of your own reasons, if you want to.

Reason Number One: I have a friend (Lisa) who is an emotional trailblazer for me. She's crazy like me (in both the good and the bad ways) and understands the way I think because she's thought that way herself. And it feels so good to be seen so clearly by her -- and to also be her friend and find her so admirable. I know I'm going to be ok, because she is. And I know I'm fun to hang out with (despite all my baggage), because she is. Lisa shows me an incredible mirror, and I feel all the safer and more amazing for it. I also feel more capable of growth with someone so loving to nudge me back on my path.

Reason Number Two: Funny things happen in my proximity an inordinate amount. Like yesterday, at MoMA. There was this awesome little girl, maybe six or seven years old, and she so didn't want to be there anymore. She took to holding her breath and stomping her foot to get her mother to leave. (I tried it later, when I was ready to go, but nobody really gave a shit.) Additionally, there was a guy in the modern section who, I'm pretty sure, was wearing a woman's cardigan sweater, this pretty flowery, stripey, 80s number. (Tourist!) Maybe funny things happen to everyone, but to me, they're definitely a blessing.

Reason Number Three: My body has completely changed. You know how you have a default weight or size? And over time that generally seems to go up? And depending on your routine and eating habits and whatever, you can change that? Well, I managed, over the course of the last five years, to go from a size twelve to what the woman at David's Bridal called "a perfect six." (I wanted to correct her and tell her I was a perfect ten, but I didn't want her pulling dresses for me that didn't actually fit.) I recently looked at pictures from the late nineties/early millennium and... wow. To be generous, I have a lot more arm in those pictures.

Reason Number Four: I have a job I like and I am rewarded for the job I do. I get paid well (I could always be paid more, I mean, let's be honest) and I get consistently complimented on the work I do. It's particularly nice because my job didn't exist before I had it, so I don't have to live up to anyone else's performance of the job, and I can come in to work overdressed for my position, and nobody knows I don't have to look as nice as I do.

Which leads to...

Reason Number Five: I recently snagged two serious sales and got myself four blazers, two dresses, a blouse, a sweater and a pair of pants for $160. Four of those items alone would have cost $292 if I had purchased them full price. (I only picked those four because their tags are sitting right here next to the computer, but I now feel compelled to do the math on the rest of them.) Three of the others totaled $228, and the last item had a clearance only price tag on it, so I guess it has always only been $19.99.

Grand total: $539.99. This paragraph: Priceless. (Please note, I paid a mere 29% of the original retail value. Talk about blessed!)