Day 220: Cloud Atlas + Grammy

Today I learned…

…that Cloud Atlas is my new favorite movie.

Today I am thankful for…

…my Grammy reaching 85 years of age!

Day 124: Hachi + Mom-in-Law

Today I learned...
...about a precious dog named Hachi. (Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhEHr7B1QiU)

Today I am thankful for...
...a visit with my  mother-in-law.

Day 117: Fun with Mom + Spring Quality Time

Today I learned...
...that no matter what we are, time with my mom is fun(ny).

Today I am thankful for...
...nice weather and quality time with Rick.

Day 47: Addiction Empathy + Momma

Today I learned...
...having had an eating disorder makes me understand alcoholism really, really well. Of course, I've made the correlations before. If I struggled with an addictive sort of mental illness in the past, it makes sense that I would be empathetic towards people who struggle with alcoholism. But tonight, watching the new movie Flight (Denzel Washington) with Rick, I realized that I watched the whole movie with a hyper-empathetic social worker lense. And I totally connected to the place the main character comes from, not because I learned about it in books and graduate classes, but because I GET IT. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know what it's like to be a person with alcoholism. I don't. Yet, I tend to be a lot more understanding regarding addictions than the typical world at large...because the pain that happens when something is so terribly out of your control is a feeling I once knew too well.


Today I am thankful for...
...seeing my mom at lunch. Since I work down the street, I popped over at lunch time to see my parents. I showed my mom some flash mobs from One Billion Rising. Her response: "I want to do it with you next year!"

Day 5: Marriage + Les Mis

Today I learned...
...that "for better or for worse" is not just a line in a marriage ceremony vow. Living with a man who is in excruciating, unnatural, horrible pain is hard for me...but it is harder for him. And while it means some trying times and some real sadnesses, it's part of marriage. It may not be part of everyone's marriage, but it is part of OUR marriage. He struggles every day and yet does so much. He gets down, and I try to boost his spirits. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. Sometimes I am up to the challenge and sometimes I get tired. But I love him, "for better or for worse." I tend not to talk about the "worse," specifically because it is private, especially for Rick. But like I told him last night, "for better or for worse" means I am HERE, next to him, ready to be present through his pain and his sorrow. Better together than alone.

Today I am thankful for...
...the chance to see Les Miserables in theater with my mom and my sister-in-law. It was fantastic, as I suspected it would be, having seen the Broadway show and read the amazing book by Victor Hugo. It is full of lessons and emotion. And - going along with my above lesson - as Victor Hugo wrote, and Jean Valjean sang, "To love another person is to see the face of God!"

Day 4: Kindness + Movie Nights

Today I learned...
...that treating someone with kindness even when you're frustrated and annoyed with them is enough to make the situation go your way. Thanks, Client of Mine who was driving me crazy. I was thinking of her with ill feeling, maybe even a little disdain...because she was difficult and disrespectful...but when I met with her, I tried to find empathize with her, tried to understand where she was coming from... and in treating her with kindness that started off tentative and soon became real, I was met with civility and respect. I expected argumentative demeanor, a bad attitude, and maybe even some yelling. Instead, I got nodding, soft words, and a complete turnaround in the scenario.

Today I am thankful for...
...wine and a movie with Rick. Sometimes the little, routine things are the things for which I am most grateful. It is a little reminder that life is good and comfortable.