"...find the good and praise it."

Hi!
One of my favorite moments from Monday's Inauguration Ceremony came when Sen. Lamar Alexander opened his speech by saying, "Ladies and gentleman, the late Alex Haley, the author of Roots, lived his life by these six words: "find the good and praise it."  It really got me thinking about how I could find the good that was happening around me.  Oftentimes, I get so busy that I forget to take the time to find the good.  I forget to actively seek.  So, here's my quick list of the recent good and my praise of it..

1) This past weekend I spent resting on the couch with Nick and Riley.  We've all had the cold/cough that's been going around.  It was a fantastic, restful weekend. I forgot how nice it was to snuggle in my pjs and watch movies. It's a shame I have to be sick in order to make myself do this. :)

2) I have been blessed with an amazing student teaching experience and guidance from a teacher that has been incredibly supportive.  We have had so much fun! I'm thankful for everyone I had the chance to work with and learn from. What an opportunity!  

3) I got a package in the mail this week from my other mom (Nick's mom) Tammy.  She knew I loved the Happiness Project book and got me the one-sentence journal to go with it.  I have been using it every day because it only requires one sentence. Totally manageable. What a wonderful surprise!

4) I was sad to hear that one of my favorite stores in Rockford was closing. Parable was the store that I loved to visit when I wanted to feel better.  I would browse book title and listen to music. I always seemed to leave with something for our house. It was one of my happy places (Starbucks being another happy place).  Even though I was sad to hear they were closing, I was thankful that they were selling the fixtures from the store.  I ended up buying two revolving book display racks and two of their double-sided book shelves.  To be able to bring parts of my "happy place" with me into a future classroom is something to praise. :)
 *Disclaimer: I don't expect everyone to be as excited about book displays as I am.  Thanks for humoring me!*

5)  This week I learned that "If you do something once and have a great time,  then it should become a tradition."  Words to live by and something I will be practicing. :)

I hope you have a wonderful week and make time to find the good and praise it in your life.