- To not only run my fiancée across the finish line of her first ultra marathon, but also cheer as she claimed second place female finisher for the 50K distance – all as she pumped her right fist clinching a dill pickle wrapped in a slice of deli turkey victoriously into the air.
- A friend and former co-worker thoughtful enough to give me a boatload of Legos for my nephew and I to play right before my friend moves far away for a job in a new city. (James, you’re the best!)
- That three-and-a-half-hour car ride filled with deep conversations on topics ranging from online gaming to politics and religion without any animosity.
- For checking out two new craft brewery locations during the same trip (The Fathead’s Brewery brewpub in Canton, Ohio and The Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. TapHouse in nearby Akron).
- For finding Chasing Sunsets, my official local craft beer for the summer of 2019 before summer has even officially begun.
- Having an incredible run of listening to and sharing the stories of some pretty amazing people at work. The latest was a much-beloved master chef in Cincinnati reflecting on life a year after his sarcoma diagnosis and treatment.
- For another moment while working: Within two minutes of getting out of a work van, a woman from a church destroyed by a tornado in Dayton, Ohio offering me a bottle of water followed by another woman making the same offer seconds later. Humbled. People can be truly inspiring and kind.
- To celebrate my niece turning three!
- For finding some great new music to listen to this summer.
- I’ve stated it before and will do so again and again and again – remembering most things in life are more about process, progression and effort than “end results.” Glad I’m once again attempting to write daily gratitude lists after a significant gap between this one and the last.