Attitude

I recently spent an afternoon in a social situation with some acquaintances that I'm in contact with on a rather infrequent basis.  One of the women in the group is an absolute strobe light when it comes to attitude.  She enters the room with a beaming smile, tells about all the wonderful things going on in her life, and draws out people and their stories.  She physically applauds other people as they relate incidents from their lives. 

One would think that this woman has a charmed life.  Not exactly.  For work she's a nurse in a hospital unit for children.  She deals with children and dying on a daily basis.  In her personal life she is the mother of a mentally challenged daughter who is now a teen with the mind of a toddler.  Yet she celebrates every small ability that her daughter has and every small accomplishment that her daughter makes, sharing with other the wonders of her special child.

The day we were together was a rainy, cloudy fall day.  "Isn't the sky lovely when it's overcast like this," she said.  There is no false bravado in this woman.  Just an ability to look around and see and celebrate what's good in life and what's good in others.  I'm grateful for people like this who I can call to mind when I'm doing the drama queen bit over some small inconvenience in my life.  Thanks, Cathy.