Have you ever thought, really thought, about all the little things we take for granted? \u00a0I seem to do that more these days.<\/p>\n
I awoke at 4:00 a.m. this morning tossing and turning, wishing I could get just a couple more hours of sleep before heading out into the day. \u00a0Straightening the covers, turning my pillow, counting sheep (in my case, counting all I needed to do…)…nothing seemed to help. \u00a0I gave in hesitantly, crawled out of the warm bed, and decided it was too early to make coffee but made it anyway.<\/p>\n
My new book, Devotions from the Kitchen Table, \u00a0<\/em>and my “Always be Grateful” box had been calling my name for a day or two, so I sat down at the small, round table to read and write, still wishing for a few more hours of shut-eye. \u00a0The wonderful aroma of the coffee filled the quiet, peaceful kitchen, and I began to settle in to the idea that I was awake and needed to take advantage of this extra bonus of time.<\/p>\n I read two pages, then another two, and two more until I had accomplished quiet a bit of reading for these tired eyes. \u00a0I then began to write my gratitude list and found I had so much more to say than I thought. \u00a0The coffee was ready, so I grabbed a Christmas mug and decided I wanted milk in my coffee though I usually drink it black. \u00a0As I opened the refrigerator, there in front of me sat a container of eggnog that I hadn’t opened because, according to the label, it has 190 calories per 1\/2 cup! \u00a0Who wants to ruin a diet before 5:00 a.m.! \u00a0I decided to open it.<\/p>\n I poured a little of this \u00a0thick, warm-yellow lusciousness \u00a0into my cup and brought it to my lips wanting to savor every little drop. \u00a0 Then it hit me. I wanted eggnog in my coffee! \u00a0I added a little more eggnog, poured in the piping hot coffee, stirred the mixture slowly, and sipped. \u00a0I sipped again…and again…<\/p>\n Before I knew it, I opened my gratitude box and added “Eggnog in my coffee” \u00a0to my morning list and decided maybe I woke up for just this small, but significant, \u00a0joy that I would’ve missed in the usual rush of the morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever thought, really thought, about all the little things we take for granted? \u00a0I seem to do that more these days. I awoke at 4:00 a.m. this morning tossing and turning, wishing I could get just a couple … Continue reading