It's Friday; It's a Good Thing

I haven't done one of these posts in a long time, and after a few hard days, it's time to focus on the good again.

So some good things in life:

1. My family is all tucked in asleep as I write this, healthy, safe.... I take this for granted too often. And other times I worry about it. Tonight, I am grateful.

2. My camera. There's something about holding it, feeling the weight in my hands, looking through the eye piece that makes everything else disappear and I am focused on just the small, beautiful thing in the lens.

3. A husband I love who is home every night. I have friends with husbands in Iraq they haven't hardly seen in 400 days. I have friends who aren't married, with no serious prospects. When I am sad, or lonely, or even happy, I can cuddle up with my husband, feel safe under his arms. I can talk endlessly with him and he appears to actually listen and care. And most of the time, he knows exactly what to say to make me suddenly feel a little better.

4. Wii. It's just plain fun. And I haven't hurt myself playing it in over a year. :)

5. The DVR. Face it - those of us with kids who have homework and bedtimes (and can't bring ourselves to let them put themselves to bed by themselves yet) pretty much have shot prime time TV. Anything worth watching is on during the putting to bed times. Now I DVR it all, and watch it when I want. Usually on Friday ... a whole slew of them hour after ungodly hour, with a bottle of wine. And that great husband. And his safe arms.

6. Which brings us to Survivor. It begins again. I love this time of year. American Idol and Survivor at the same time! Survivor tops my DVR list. Exotic locations. Ridiculous challenges. Backstabbing. Twists. Real people, acting real stupid, real arrogant, real conniving.... can you ask for more? I DVR it and watch it Friday night. With that glass of wine. And the hubs. A perfect night.

7. Electric blankets.

8. Good books.

9. Surprise emails.

10. People who smile, even if they don't know you.

11. The crossing guard who directs traffic at my kids' school. Rain, snow, high winds, below zero or above a hundred degrees. She is there. And everything is smooth. And when she isn't, it takes fifteen minutes and a nightmarish backup to get into the parking lot. And she always smiles.

12. Friends who know exactly what to say to keep me from jumping off that cliff... even if they don't know how important what they are saying is.

13. The hope of a warm, tropical vacation.

14. Really good teachers. There are a few of them.

15. Punctuation and grammar. I've got an abnormal love for them. And occasionally misusing them. But only with purpose.

Okay, I'm done for now. Some things need to be saved for next Friday. What are some of your favorite thing?