As I kneel down to write this week and reflect on the past 7 days… I find myself thinking about what happened… what stood out… what caught my attention or held my thoughts and the main ‘lightbulb’ that keeps turning on is simply but genuinely… gratitude.
I started the week with a great visit from a great friend and I think that was a perfect jumping off point for the week. I found myself inspired at work… cooking new and challenging dishes such as penne pasta with a lemon-parmesan cream sauce with crispy chicken cutlets and fresh garlic bread. Or the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on freshly baked hoagie rolls topping with spicy slaw and a cilantro chile sauce to end the week. I found myself having fun in the kitchen and in here (or out there)… you gotta take a moment and really appreciate how lucky you are to feel that way at work. I was able to talk to my boys for the full 15 minutes both days this week. Hearing about their days… how their beautiful imaginations’ and curiosities’ were ignited by the eclipse on Monday… reading me their weather and mine off of their mom’s phone (a current favorite activity to partake in)… all capped off with the ‘I love you Daddy’ as we get off the phone calls… I am a lucky man.
I find myself having that feeling that things are going to be okay… that things may even be good… that whatever we (all of us) are doing… we are doing something right. These are the moments and feelings that I must hold onto and remember when things are inevitably not so shiny at some point in the future. But for now… I gratefully sit in the positivity… reflect on what is working… plan for what I can control in the near future and remind myself that when the grass looks green around me… don’t look to “the other side”.
I hope your guys’ grass looks green out there this week as well. I think it is such an important notion to allow ourselves to focus on the good in our lives when we are lucky enough to recognize and capture positive moments. We spend so much time thinking and working toward something bigger and better that we miss the current victories of today. The bigger and better will be ready for your attention tomorrow… allow yourself to enjoy today.
Stay Healthy. Stay Active. Enjoy that green grass that is all around you… let someone else enjoy the other side.
Mazel tov, Zach.