I came across this post by photographer, Brooke Shaden, called 5 Things. Every day I get so bogged down by life’s daily challenges that I sometimes forget all that I should be thankful for. Reading her post was so inspiring that I became intrigued by the idea of it that I had to do it for myself. The gist is this: find 5 things a week to be thankful for. Each week I am going to sit down and remember all the things that made my life better and not worse. Today, while my students were complaining about a number of things, I told them about the idea. Some of them looked at me like I was crazy. Some nodded thoughtfully. And some were just plain confused. Oh, the glory of the teenaged mind. I remember myself at that age and thought life was horrible in so many ways. Looking back, I’m not so sure. There were a lot of great moments in there.

Who knows, maybe my positive energy will reflect in you. Try to do the same and post your thoughts below.

#1 The Juice Cleanse

A year ago, this is something I would not even attempt. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but it started with a documentary I watched called “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” I ended up really liking the idea of juice cleansing and issued myself a 3 day juice challenge. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it. I have more energy, my moods are more level, and waking up in the morning has gotten easier. I knew this isn’t going to be a permanent thing so that too made it simpler. I don’t think I could go longer than 3 days.

#2 A Writing Breakthrough

Technically, this happened last week, but since I’m just starting this whole thing, I am throwing it in. I’ve been working on a book for about a year. Everything was done, mostly polished, beta read, etc. Everyone said the same thing I already knew: love the beginning and middle, but the end…  That’s how I felt too. Then something clicked and BAM a breakthrough. I have a whole new ending. And I love it! Ah, it feels so good when that happens.

#3 A Trip to Big Bear

My family and I took a much needed vacation to Big Bear. Unfortunately there wasn’t any snow, but it was still absolutely amazing. I came home feeling rested and inspired. It was everything a vacation should be.

#4 The Family Photographer

The truth of the matter is that I rarely take pictures anymore unless they involve my kids or vacationing. There was a time when I was never without my camera. Then it became a job. I tried doing weddings, babies, etc. That stuff just wasn’t that fun. My sister-in-law asked if I could take her family photos for a Mother’s Day gift for her mom. First, I feel it is a huge complement when someone asks nowadays. Second, it was a lot of fun.

#5 Nice Words

This one is simple: One of my students came up to me and told me how much they like my class AND they  want to take my advanced class next year. It always gives me the warm fuzzies when I have a student that wants to come back–especially after I tell them how much work it is.

Anyway, that’s all for this week. Please join me in spreading the good vibes by posting something good that happened to you this week.