Today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!

I was born on October 15, 1977 to the most wonderful parents! (Hi mom and dad!) I always tell the story about how my father was not there when I was born. For YEARS, I gave him such a hard time. Well, I was not due until Halloween, so my dad went off to his annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ. As luck would have it, my mother went into labor (what she thought was indigestion from a chili dog!). Our wonderful family friends were there to take mom to the hospital so I could come into the world 2 weeks early. Unfortunately, my father wasn't there to be the first one to hold me. HOWEVER.....after MANY years of me making him feel so guilty for not being there, I found my baby book. Although there wasn't a lot of stuff written in it (middle child syndrome) I did find some pieces of paper from a notepad in the hotel where my father was staying. On the paper were all my stats: weight, height, time of birth and flight information so he could get home as soon as possible. So, after finding that, I decided to stop giving him a hard time.....well, at least for that!

So, instead of being depressed about becoming another year older, I thought I would take the time to realize how wonderful life really is! I don't want to put a limit to how long this list is, so I will just start listing things and see where it goes!

1) Health. I am healthy. I am thankful everyday for my health and the health of those around me.

2) Family. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Two parents who I love very much, a brother who has a heart of gold, and a sister who is always there (especially with cupcakes and a pumpkin for my birthday!) I have an incredible husband who I love more than I can say! I have a wonderful stepson who keeps me laughing ALL THE TIME.

3) Friends. I have so many good friends who I couldn't live without. A big THANK YOU to my friend Leah who had the kindest words for me today in her blog.

4) Job. I have worked for the same company for 10 years (well, it will be 10 years on October 26). For the most part, I have enjoyed it. I am thankful to have a successful career and co-workers who make my days easy to get through when the job itself makes it hard.

Well, I think I hit the core 4. Health, Family, Friends, Job. Without all those things, I would be miserable! Well, I could do without the job, but you catch my drift.