Day 85: On Loving Life

This was a full day.

They all are, actually.  My days are full.

I'm loving my life.

I'm not saying it's an easy life, or a leisurely one, or a carefree one.  It's none of those things.

I could completely dwell on the pinched nerves, swollen pinky toes and screwed up hips I'm dealing with right now.
Or our lack of full-time employment, our drastically reduced income, and our worrisome economic situation.
Or issues or concerns about the boys. 
Or the house. 
Or the state of the world in general.

But why would I want to do that?

How can I feel anything but gratitude for all that I do have right now?

So this is what I will say about today.

I started the day with a two-hour deep-tissue theraputic massage that was supposed to be a one-hour massage, but once he was in there, the therapist (a friend and former childbirth student) asked if I could stay a while longer so we could finish the job.

It hurt like nothing I've ever felt, and it took all of my concentration to relax and breathe through it.  When it was finally over, I felt perfectly noodlely.  Grateful for the gift he had given me, and for his skill in transforming my knotted-up body into pleasant noodlelyness.  It was the first massage I had received as an athlete, and it was gratifying to realize that he saw me as an athlete as well. 

The afternoon was spent with Savageman and the boys, our usual routine punctuated by a flurry of texts from friends checking in, making plans, being silly, sharing their own day with me.

We cleaned up, had our final mentoring meeting with our engaged couple, and I made it into the dojang by the end of class.  Got an hour and a half of open practice in with the black belts who have been helping me.  Made significant progress there.  Realized it's still too soon to be practicing without taping the toes first.

Came home and iced the toes.

Now it's late, the kids are in bed, Savageman is watching the NCAA championship game, and I'm writing and playing several fiercely competitive games of Words With Friends on my phone.

And feeling incredibly grateful for my sweet husband, my multi-talented boys, my wacky friends, and this beautiful day with which I have been blessed.

Anything less than total gratitude would be in poor taste.