"Gratitude is a beautiful thing and a tool"

Taking my job for granted..

I am the type of person who thinks a lot. I analyze things, make observations and then I look at how I contribute to those things or situations, and then I think about how I Want to contribute to those things or situations. Working with children is a passion of mine. For one thing, with the age group I'm working with now, they look up to you -- they think you're cool. I love hanging out with them and giving them my attention as they get excited and intrigued by your attention and company, but...

..Although there is this wide open opportunity to have all of these wonderful moments with the younger ones just laid out at my feet, sometimes work gets busy and those wonderful moments get lost forever. If a kid asks me to play a game with them and I can't because I am running around taking attendance for 50 kids and figuring out where they all are, I can't play the game with that kid. The thing is, after a while of teaching you learn skills like saying "Once I am done with this, I promise you it is the first thing I will do, we will play that game!". But, the part where I take for granted is that after I am flustered from being so busy at work and need a moment to myself, I'm sure I should be looking around the room and scoping out who I will go ahead and engage with for a little while. I take for granted these opportunities by taking a break, sometimes too long of a break to the point where I haven't had as much one on one time with the kids as I'd like. Or, a kid says "Bye Sara! Ill miss you this weekend" and I am so busy all I can quickly do is smile and say "You too!" as I quickly turn my back and refocus on whatever else I was doing. Instead of just easily waving a hand goodbye, I want to be grateful of the opportunity, say "Hey, wait!" give the kid a hug and say "I'm going to miss you so much this weekend, too!"

I am grateful for: love of all kinds; friends & family

when I think about why we are on this earth, I know one thing: 

Love Exists. That's enough to be happy about!

I am grateful for little things:

humor, my phone, my bed, my room, my itunes, my headphones,

iced coffee, my clothes, the beauty in the world, the general kindness of people, 

my favorite dress, my car, my education, my art and music, the sun, the flowers,

the heavy love I have for those who've passed, the stars, and my big beating heart.

I've always been grateful for the little things. I'm not saying I don't appreciate my car or the roof over my head. But, I've always been the type to center my feelings of gratitude towards little things like my coffee and my book. 

Gratitude for my family

One thing I have always wanted to do since I had moved out was spend more time with family. Have more nights that I spend with my mother helping her clean and go on errands and then relaxing while we watch a movie at the end of the night. I want to do more things with my sisters. I want to take them bowling, Id like to bring them on a ferry to an Island so we could spend all day exploring it. Id like to spend more time with my grandma whos husband just past away, taking her shopping, making her cards and enjoying movies with her. I want to do more of this for my family. I have so much love for them, but I don't get to show it as often as I like. For example, tonight my youngest sister, my mother and I drove off in my mothers new Audi blasting the song Bohemian Rhapsody.. It was an experience that we all enjoyed while we were Together, and we were all happy to have each other. 

the sun, my phone, my clothes, a cool breeze, family

sun shining brightly

feels so warm upon my skin

gets my endorphins flowing

phone in my pocket

phone in my pocket

you get me there securely

I play and I stay in touch

my clothes are pretty

I like having them around

colors, patterns, and styling

cool summer breezes

your wind blows all over me

perfect afternoon

I love family

They stand up so tall for me

Do their best for me