My garage is awesome

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

When S and I moved in to his house, I had a lot of boxes of stuff that didn't have a place to go in the house immediately, so I put them in the garage. This was a source of contention between my very uncluttered soon-to-be husband and me - he doesn't keep a lot of stuff that doesn't have an immediate use, and I couldn't quite understand what the big deal was to have boxes in the garage.

I insisted that I didn't mind parking in the driveway - "It's easier", I proclaimed, "and besides, I am scared to park in the garage anyway. I don't want to hit the sides of the house when I pull in and out." For my safety, he claimed it was better for us to both park in the garage. His points? If we park in the garage, it would be harder for someone to break into the cars, and if it's raining, wouldn't it be nice to have shelter while exiting the car and going into the house?

OK - he had me there. I hate getting rained on. So, after he made that point, those dang boxes haunted me - especially on cloudy days, when the threat of rain was imminent. Slowly, I unpacked as many boxes as I could and found places for the contents in the house, and finally, anything that didn't make the cut of things that needed to be inside the house, I either neatly stacked in the very back wall of the garage (so that the cars could still fit inside) or put up in the attic, where they would be out of sight and out of mind.

Not only did I have a very happy husband once I finished, I was also able to park in the garage on rainy days (and other days, too - it's gotten less scary as I have gotten more practice.) Now, after months of parking with impunity in our uncluttered garage, I can almost forget that there were many times over the years of living in apartments without garages that I had to RUN from the car to the apartment, attempting to dodge raindrops. And today, when it was raining torrentially, I was super happy to have a garage to park in. I won't take a garage for granted ever again. (Ok, I might...but if I do, I hope someone reminds me that I said that today.).

Another thing that I often take for granted is my access to tickets to fun things like shows that come to town. Since I work in radio, we occassionally get tickets to events like concerts or shows when they come through town. Since I've been in radio for about 17 years now, it can almost seem like a "given" that we get to go to these events, when in reality, it's not a given at all. It's an awesome perk, and tonight, we get to go see one of my f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e musicals, Les Miserables. I have loved this show since I was a preteen, so I am super pumped to be able to go. (I apologize, in advance, for anyone sitting near me if I sing along too loudly.)

Today, I feel gratitude for:
- A garage where I can park my car when it's raining
- A break in the rain for the dogs to go outside right when I came home - perfect timing, Dude!
- A free haircut at a fancy salon - is there anything better than having someone massage your head while they shampoo your hair? Actually, YES! You could also have someone massaging your hands, at the same time! Heaven...
- Tickets to go see Les Miserables tonight - my inner theater geek is bouncing up and down with excitement
- A DVR that can tape "my shows" while we are out at the theater tonight, so I won't miss anything

Dear God, thanks for the blessings you shower upon me - and for the chance to notice them and feel gratitude for them. I am even grateful for the rain that showered all day, because I know that soon enough, it'll make all the plants around us green and gorgeous. On what seemed like a gloomy and yucky day, it would have been easy to dive into matching my mood with the weather - and instead, You made life so good that I couldn't ignore how lucky I am. Keep up the good work! Amen.


What do YOU feel gratitude for today? Anything that struck you today that you might normally take for granted?