Gratituesday...(or The Day I counted my threads!)

So this morning I woke up and considered my warm bed for a moment. Rubbed my feet together and found myself thinking about the way the sheets feel on them. 'Mmmm...that feels nice. I wonder what the thread count is on these sheets? Just what exactly is a 'thread count' anyways...I mean, who's got time to count threads? Apparently Egyptians do...because they're usually listed on the sheet tags. 'Sheet tags'...is that even a real phrase? Why am I even awake? Most importantly, why am I asking myself all these questions?'

That's when I decided to be quiet in my head for a moment and listen. I heard the dog snoring softly from the foot of the bed. I heard my daughter's music as she opened her bedroom door and went into the bathroom. I heard a mourning dove cooing. Trucks and cars going to work (or home) on the highway nearby.

What a lot of stuff to ponder upon in just 30 seconds or so...not big things, any of them...just small fragments...little details of my life.

Which got me to thinking about what I'm grateful for today.

Gratitude does not come easy for me. While my manners (I will thank you for giving me something!)have taught me to vocalize gratitude to people, I do not easily 'count my blessings'. So often I take things for granted, or wish for things I do not have. I think hard about my needs...my wants...others needs and their wants. I pray about these things, thinking that somehow maybe...that counts as gratitude.

But to be able to lay in my bed for half a minute and think about all the small things I would miss if they were not here...and thank God for them...was a really great (grateful!) way to start my day.

My friends, if you are having trouble finding things to be thankful for...start with something easy...something small. Something as simple as...oh...I don't know...toilet paper, maybe? I am SOOOOO thankful for toilet paper. And lilacs. And comfy beds...and thread counts.

Count your 'threads' today. :)

Strike a Pose

Once upon a time while channel surfing,
(Go on, admit it. All of the best stories begin with those words!)

Once upon a time, while I clicked my way around the television world, I came across a show I had never seen before. It was mesmerizing, full of color and exotic locations, and major fights.

No, it wasn't the UFC. Or Dora the Explorer.

It was America's Next Top Model. Three minutes in and I was hooked. You see, it's a reality show about super model wannabe's and their quest to become the Next Cover Girl Extraordinaire. Just the type of show a middle aged, rural gal like myself needs when she wants to 'get away from the mundane'.

Like most reality shows, there are challenges and eliminations. Sure, there's superficiality. And griping, whining, backstabbing and namecalling...but during the major photo shoot you get a chance to see who really takes modeling seriously.

And who's just another pretty, pretending face.

There is a part of me that has secretly wanted to be a model. And on a hot summer day when I was about seventeen, I got a taste of what that life might be like.

My youth group went to Great America near Chicago for rollercoaster fun filled with long lines and sunburned faces. Boy, it was HOT that day! At one point, just to get into some air conditioning, I ventured into a photo booth where for a sum equivalent to a college education you could have your picture put on the cover of a 'real' magazine.

I was the queen of the magazine realm at that age. I read Teen Beat and Tiger Beat and Seventeen and 16 Magazine...just to name a few. Why, I'd even peruse some of my mother's mags, even if I didn't care about recipes or the color of my current window treatments.

So I decided to have my image pasted onto the cover of Teen Beat. "COVER STAR LOOKING FOR LOVE!" read the headline. "COULD YOU BE THE ONE?"

The photographer had me do this ridiculous pose where one arm was up over my head and the other was beckoning. After what felt like several months of turning and gazing and standing still and moving quickly the final picture was taken. However, while I felt like I was trying to direct traffic rather than attempting to seek out that 'special guy', the picture turned out pretty good.

And I learned something valuable from that photo session. America's Next Top Model, while it may have some serious flaws as a form of entertainment, does get one thing right.

Modeling is HARD WORK! And actions very often speak louder than words...

Take my job as a parent. Or a daughter. Or a wife. PLEASE! (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

All kidding aside here, the times I've been beautifully successful in those jobs (or when I've extremely failed at them) were NOT the times that I simply talked or yelled or instructed. They were the times I MODELED good or bad behavior. The times that showed others how to do the right or wrong thing.

If my children hear me say that they should be giving and generous, but never see me actually do that for someone-it's less effective. And if I tell my husband to respect me, but don't show him what respect can look like-I'm not helpful. You see, we are the ones in front of a camera, my friends. We are the ones who wake up each day for a full photo shoot.

We are America's Next Top Model.

We just don't call ourselves that name, do we? I mean, let's face it. That's a huge responsibility. Bigger even than working for Maybelline or Gucci.

This week I encourage you to consider treating people the way that you would like to be treated. Not just thinking about doing something, or considering the consequences involved if something doesn't happen...but ACTION. Your children watch you, your employees watch you, the public watches you. Whether you believe it or not, someone is channel surfing your life every day...make sure that what they're seeing is worth a second look.