When you have nothing to write...

Ugh. I told myself that I would write every single day. When I have "nothing" to write about, I make thankful lists. Here we go:

1. Thank you cold wind. Thank you for making me stay inside and think of things that inspire me.

2. Thank you, husband, for this:

Cari smashes into the liquor "cabinet" with her hips. (She crams her hips into things, daily.)
Cari screams, "OWWW! Why the hell do I hit my hips on things all over the house!?"
Husband responds, "Because everything loves your hips so much that everything wants to be by them."

3. Gustopher Joe...my dog. Sometimes, when I'm happily napping away, you will jump on the bed and snuggle. I don't really notice until I have a paw (a chocolate chip paw) in my face. The musty, organic smell of your chocolate chip paw makes me so happy. Don't worry, Gustopher Joe...it doesn't smell bad. It smells like a garage full of woodworking men. It smells like a dark wine cellar. Your paw is a concrete slab basement where you had your first kiss. Thank you, Gus paws.

4. Thank you, friends. Dear LORD, what would we all do without friends? Do you want to know what I learned just from friends, today?

a. A new baby girl is coming into the world.
b. A friend is beginning to write.
c. One friend is coming out of a depression, but she's going to go back to school. Everything is going to be alright.
d. One friend is painting away, happily.
e. Another friend is happy that my last name now starts with an "A," which makes my name appear at the top of her "friends" list.

5. Thank you, "Way That Things Ended Up."
Didn't really know that things would end up this way, obviously. Didn't know that I'd live downtown in a large-ish city ever again. Didn't really know that I'd want to share all of myself again. Didn't really know that I'd have THIS thought: "I can do whatever I want and make money doing it," ever again. Didn't know that my heart would grow as big as the Grinch's ever again. Didn't know that I'd appreciate cardigan sweaters ever again. Didn't know that I would ever like Jeeps. Didn't know that someone could love me for exactly who I am. Didn't know that I'd be in love with someone that I have an argument with almost every single day. (Past relationships included quietly disregarding the question/conflict at hand.) Had no idea that life could be so good.

Please hug the ones you love really, really, REALLY hard tonight.

We don't know how long we have here. You never know. Hug them. Then hug yourself.