I woke up this morning kind of.. blah. Like, “It’s cold out. Blah.” and “It’s early. Blah.” and “Why get out of bed? What great thing is really going to happen today anyway? Blah.”
Not a great way to greet the day. So, I sat down and had a talk with God about my attitude and His ability to change it. And when I was done with that, I grabbed my phone.
Here’s what I saw on a friend’s Facebook page: “No matter how good or bad your life is, wake up each morning and be thankful you still have one.” -Zig Ziglar 
My breath caught and my eyes started leaking and I thought, “Oh yeah… I had cancer. CANCER!!! And I’ve been spared. I’ve been spared any major further treatments. I’ve been spared an ongoing epic battle. I’ve just plain been SPARED. I get to stay. I get to carry on.”
And then I got up from my chair and walked up the stairs to wake up my sleeping babies. Thank you, Jesus.
As if that wasn’t enough to throw me directly into gratitude mode, I got special message from a woman saying this: “Coming home from Monterey, CA tonight, waiting for that last stretch home to Fargo. Starbucks is doing an awesome promo to send coffee to soldiers overseas, with some of the proceeds going to cancer research in October. Just wanted you to know that I donated 1 pound in your honor. Love ya lady. Pay it forward. Simple acts of kindness.”
And then I stumbled across the photos in my phone from an event held in Wisconsin last weekend. Both my niece and a family friend walked in my honor at the Milwaukee Race for the Cure. 
People have asked me where I get the energy and enthusiasm for kindness in a world that is so good at sucking the life out of us. Any kindness I show for others is a result of a heart that is overflowing with kindness shown to me and gratitude for all I’ve been given: friends who walk with my name on their backs, women in the airport who donate coffee, and a life that I get to keep on living.
