Getting old

Since my last post my grandmother turned 90 and we had a big shindig in her honor. It was lovely, great to see family, yadda-yadda-yadda.

Do you know how OLD 90 is? I'm 32. This means to get to where she is, I'd have to do my life almost two more times - without the part where I need to learn to walk/talk/read. It's unfathomable. I'm just saying...that's a lot of time to either do some GREAT things or f*ck up.

Life

Yesterday evening, we celebrated my grandmother's 90th birthday. That's right, 90 years. She was born in 1918. As one of my brothers said in the welcome, 1918 to most of us is a year in the history books. What a blessing to have witnessed the MANY changes that have happened in this country during her ninety years. I am definitely grateful to have her in my life.

I figured that if I make it to 90 years old, it will be 2065. I wonder what the world will be like then. Whatever it's like (environmentally, politically, economically, socially), I just pray that I am surrounded by love the way my grandmother was last night.

Gratitude List

1. My education

2. My friends

3. My family

Gratitude List

It's been a while since I've made a list. Trust, it's not that I have nothing to be grateful for. There are LOTS of blessings in my life. Here are my 3 for today...

1. Unexpected income from a dear friend.

2. A beautiful spring day in New York City

3. A lovely meal cooked by my brother.

Gratitude List

1. My family. I had such a great time at my parents house yesterday, watching the Super Bowl while braiding my niece's hair and listening to 3 of my brothers and my dad do that male bonding thing over football and pizza.

2. The New York Giants...for helping to provide a wonderful ending to the evening described in #1

3. Water. It's good and good for me. Time to refill the water bottle.

Gratitude List

1. Inspiration received from Gloria Estefan's song, "Coming Out of the Dark"
2. In Good Company for a place to work
3. The top I'm wearing, which makes my breasts look GREAT

Gratitude List

Here are 3 things I'm grateful for today:

1. The sun is shining
2. I feel well rested
3. I have a full day ahead of me

It's all About Perspective

Today I was reminded just how blessed I am. I ran into the mother of a childhood friend. She told me that her daughter has gotten into drugs and is no longer taking care of her children. One is with her (this friend's mother) and the other two are with their father. At one point this young lady was modeling and had a promising career ahead of her. And now her life is focused on her next hit. That made me sad, and I immediately said a prayer for her.

But then a thought came to me... I have spent so much time comparing myself to those in my life I perceive to have more than me, that I never looked at the many ways I am blessed. I have coveted many aspects of the lives of different friends; income, education, relationships, group membership, physical attributes, places they've traveled, etc. You name it, I have a friend who has it in a way I thought I wanted. Talk about depressing. There was no way I could feel good about myself that way.

This is not to say that I am better than this childhood friend of mine, but I do realize that compared to her, I've got it pretty damn good. Compared to a lot of people, I've got it good. Does that mean I don't want new things and can't use the folks in my life for inspiration...absolutely not! It just means that I have to remind myself that not having doesn't mean I'm less than. There is a HUGE difference between being inspired and coveting. The energy is different. The way I feel about me is different.

So as the title says it's all about perspective. Do I look at myself as a "have" or a "have not"? Either way, I'm right.