slowly going darker

1. I am grateful for times when I get together with friends and we are chatting and laughing and the time just flies by. Not that I'm grateful for the time passing quickly, but, you know, when the conversation just keeps flowing and then you look at your watch and are surprised at how much time as passed. Those times = awesome.

2. I got my hair cut and colored today and had to take Gulliver with me and am so grateful that he did not wipe his now not-all-that-runny nose on any toys that did not belong to him. He was a trooper and I was glad that he was so well-behaved. I am also grateful for how great my hair looks after a professional has styled it.

3. I am grateful that right now, as I type this, Somebody is scratching my back (you know, because I needed to relax after my long, hard day of getting my hair cut and having dinner with friends). I helpfully suggested to him that maybe that was what he wanted to be doing, and while he didn't necessarily agree, he still obliged.

"As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: 'Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them.'"
James E. Faust, "Gratitude As a Saving Principle," Ensign, Dec 1996