And by ’em, I mean THEM. Pixie and Dixie, enjoy your Cheerios somewhere else, thank you.

I am grateful for my Sylvester, and grateful for the dumpster burial ground.

I am grateful for playgrounds and memories of spending lots of time at a playground, as a child, as a young Mom, and as Ama.

I am grateful for the heat wave of January 2015. Sunshine and 45, time for the pool to open.

I am grateful for locks on doors to keep scary outside.

I am grateful for not a cloud in the sky skies. It is simply beautiful.

I am grateful for a Dad who calls me just because.

I am grateful for thick bath towels.

I am grateful for strange people who make me shake my head and realize this world would be pretty boring without them in it.

I am grateful for a simple pleasure of sitting in silence in a parking lot, watching a flock of sparrows trying to find food.

I am grateful that Sam likes a clean truck and keeps it that way.

I am grateful for new experiences.

I am grateful for silly phone calls with my sister. She cracks me up with her adventures.

I am grateful for satellites that allow for Internet access in the middle of nowhere.

I am grateful for road trips with my best friend. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is NOT a dream.

I am grateful for an alarm clock on my cell phone.

I am grateful for big purses. I’m sorry, Mom, for all of the big purse jokes you had to endure over the years. Big purses are awesome.

I am grateful for seat heaters, or heat seaters, as I tend to call them.

I am grateful for the anticipation I am feeling for the weekend and seeing Karissa and family.

I am grateful for tornado slides, swinging bridges that make tummies flip, swings that are not flimsy and squeeze your hips on top of each other, teeter totters, and merry-go-rounds.

And I am grateful for the person who makes the merry go round.