Today is the 998th straight day I’ve blogged which means I’m only a few days away from a pretty significant milestone…  four digits!  How crazy is that???  Every single day I’ve spent time writing about something I’ve been thankful for that day, and I’ve done my best to not repeat too many things.  While some have certainly blended pretty close to each other they’ve always been at least a little different or looked at the same thing through a slightly different lens.

As I close in on my 1,000th post I’ve found myself being more and more thankful for taking the time to blog.  It’s given me the reason to stop and give thanks for what I have each day and has brought so much more joy into my life than I’d ever imagined.  Someone in a TED Talk put it in a very wonderful way, “happiness wanting what you have, not having what you want.”  In taking time to write it’s helped me stay focused on the right side of the equation.

In taking the time to appreciate this process I would be remiss to not take time to be thankful for the original engineers of this blog, my parents.  Without their never ending love and positive energy this blog would never have happened.  They are the ones who showed me by example how to live a joyful life, how to share happiness, how to always stay positive, and to grit out any challenges life throws my way with a smile.

Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t perfect either, but they were the most incredible role models I could ever hope to have had growing up.  Every step of the way I knew they loved me unconditionally, believed in my ability to accomplish anything, and were always willing to do whatever was needed to help me grow.  In some cases it was support, others cases it was a kick in the ass, and other times it was friendship and humor at the right time.

I’ve been blessed to have parents who taught me at a very early age to be thankful for everything in life, especially each wonderful moment we are granted.  When times were good they were thankful, when times were bad they were thankful.  They would look to the positive and try to find the upside in every situation, regardless of how dire.  They helped me understand that by being thankful for adversity and fighting through it that I could accomplish anything I could dream.

If I think of my blog as a building that’s been built one brick at a time, day by day, my parents are the engineers and architects of it.  They’ve helped me understand the importance of gratitude and being thankful while both coaching it and living it.  They were the ones who taught me how to pause for a moment and just take in the moment and appreciate it.

Mom and Dad, thanks for being the original designers of this blog.  Without either of you this wouldn’t have grown and I would’t have the joy in my life today that I have.  Love you!!!

Thanks!!!