Grateful.

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. 

Cicero

I had such a good time enumerating the things I am grateful for last week that I wanted to get in the habit of making sure I recognize the good things in my life.

I'm grateful that more and more awareness is being brought to crucial issues like this one. (If you read nothing else today, click this link and read the whole article.)

I am grateful for those teaching days when my students participate willingly in discussion. I'm especially grateful for those students who don't usually have much to say, but find an author they can engage and enjoy. I realize I have very little to do with this. 

I'm glad I have two crazy kitties. I live alone, but coming home to these suckers that won't stay out of the glass I'm drinking out of, that bite my feet when I'm trying to sleep, that jump on the ledge of the tub every time I take a shower, that squeak at me when I come in from my day, and that love to sleep next to me and wake me up by biting my nose really makes living alone a whole lot easier. 

I'm glad pansies are resilient flowers, or mine would be dead. 

I'm grateful for the recent blog-friends I've made, even though one of them doesn't have a blog. (Hi, Alisha!)

I'm grateful for the pants and skirt I didn't give away when I didn't fit into them, because otherwise, I wouldn't have had anything to wear to teach in today. 

I'm grateful for a professor that encourages thought and humor in his classroom, and because he doesn't see it as his classroom.