Taking Life for Granted

     An old friend from high school just recently wrote to me and said, " so many times we take life for Granite."  That is what brings me to this next post, a grateful reminder of not taking life for granite.  Many of us do take the good things in our lives for granted, our mate, our children, our home, the list goes on. Most of us don't stop to think "what would happen if I lost this or that.   We only think of what we have or had, when it is gone or simply diminished.
    I look back now at my life, and realize how much I took it for granite.  Especially with my children, Lexi and Austin.  I remember when they rolled over, crawled, sat up, walked, and talked, but didn't spend much time realizing how wonderful it was.  I took the small stuff as no biggie.  But now that I have a child with special needs, (Madilyn) I have come to be grateful for those little things.  It is important to cherish the small moments of each and every day spent with them.   
     So what should we do, spend our lives feeling grateful? The answer is yes. You can show that you are grateful for what you have by being kind and generous and teaching your children to be the same. Though that sounds simple, people often cannot master this way of thinking. This may arise from the idea that life owes us at least what we are now receiving. Sometimes we feel life owes us more or better than we are receiving. If that's where you are now, or feel that you are reaching that point take a day off and enjoy some "never take anything for granite" time.Take time out to acknowledge
the smaller good things in life; do it alone or grab your kids, your spouse or a good friend and go to the zoo, take a bike ride or a walk to enjoy the beauty of nature. 
“When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren't grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude”
-Cynthia Ozick