This Present Joy

In my world, I've got my "staple stores" and my "yeah, right" stores. For instance, Target is one of my staple stores. I just can't say enough good things about Target. . .I even love their commercials. I'd like to meet some of their marketing team and give them props on their creativity. To me, Target ranks right up there with apple pie and baseball in the realm of all things Americana. I visit a Target store no less than once a week, perusing their clothing aisles and buying most of my groceries there. If I was a contestant on the Price is Right, and they featured items from a Target store, I am confident I would make it through to the Showcase Showdown. So, you catch my drift on what I mean by a staple store. . . . And, then there are the "yeah, right" stores. These are the stores I really have no business being in. They are the stores that will bust a budget quickly. Anthropologie is one of my "yeah, right" stores. I remember the ...

You all probably think I'm the president of the fan club for "The Bucket List" (a recent movie)--but there is just something about that movie that touched me. And to top it all off, a John Mayer song that plays during the credits--"Say"--affected me just as much. If you haven't heard it, go listen to it right now on Itunes. The movie and song both have made me think a lot--but here's where I've recently landed, thought-wise, from them. . . . How easily do you tell a friend or someone in your family how thankful you are for them and for the good things they bring into your life. . . . for their character. . . for the way they make you laugh. . . for the phone calls and emails just to check in on you. . for the things about them that inspire you. . . I've been pondering recently how it's easy to think these things to myself and assume that the other person knows how I feel--but then I realized how silly that is. . . What is it that prevents us ...