Category Archives: #iamgrateful #iamthankful

SCAVENGER HUNT or DOCUMENT YOUR GOOD DAYS

After being up until 5am on work and life; up at 7am with flower shaped cranberry muffins. Pancakes. Oven baked fried chicken. Homemade disinfecting cleaner. Homemade foaming hand soap. And a splurge on basement and backyard play equipment that should delight the kids and help them through; help them navigate through, all of this. Full house cleaned. A work proposal and a creative piece of content out tomorrow morning faster than I’ve ever seen this stuff turned before. And ready with a schedule and incentives to exercise for the first time in 5 weeks starting tomorrow. Tonight, wrapped up by 830pm.

But the highlight was this scavenger hunt we put together. The kids worked together. Each solved 3 clues. It was fun. And great to see them troubleshoot together.

Going to finish my scheduled work, grab a beer, and should be asleep by midnight. For the night. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful I wanted to make today great and I think we pulled it off. You don’t always have good days so celebrate them when you do. Document them so you remember they’re possible.

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BCBS KNOB CREEK or WHEN YOU DOMINATE A DAY

That’s it folks. Some nights you go to bed ready for tomorrow. Some nights you go to bed needing a tomorrow for some redemptive reason. Some nights you go to bed ready for a tomorrow and needing one because of how utterly you dominated a day, and how psyched you are to do the same tomorrow.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful Shoutout Goose Island for my favorite indulgence in all its variants, 20 years and counting. Tomorrow, I’m already here waiting for you.

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COOLIE or WHAT HE STOOD AND STANDS FOR

This is one of my all-time favorite stories. There are few things that better encapsulate what my Daddy stood for. Stands for now with his legacy. Than this. I try my best on a daily basis to be wowed and overwhelmed by the simplest of actions. It was amazing what would bring him to tears; and I feel that myself. And for all the jokes. And for all the desensitization my reactions (overreactions) may create in others — in this case, I think we raise the bar on our humanity and our gratitude by lowering the bar on what it takes for us to be impressed, wowed, humbled, and grateful.

For this lesson, Daddy, #iamgrateful and #iamthankful. And I am, at this moment, teary-eyed as I recall you telling me this story when I was barely a teenager.

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MY GREATEST WORK or PAISLEY PARK

Every morning for drop off we start with Anaiya who has a drive thru drop off. We pull up, the teachers take Anaiya out, and we drive off to drop Jaanu off. Kudos to Campbell/Moss PTO and Moss School for making this happen by the way — it’s magic.

For the 10 or so minutes while we’re waiting in line for drop off, we have a karaoke/dance party in the car. Anaiya usually requests Frozen. Jaanu always requests whatever Anaiya just played.

I’ll try to insert something. To mix it up. Build a bridge to some musical taste beyond soundtracks to animated films. Pop. Safe Hip Hop. Who knows. Nothing sticks more than a day; and we’re back to Disney.

Well. Except this week. Jaanu lets Anaiya have her Frozen 2 soundtrack. She gets out of the car. And floating, rising, arcing over the headrest from the back seat, landing in my ear and settling deep in the most important place in my soul, I hear Jaanu utter the following words:

“Buhboo, can you play Prince?”

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for what sticks. There is a park that is known … Paisley Park is in your heart. And I think, now it’s in his. Amen to my life’s greatest work.

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GENESIS OWUSU or VINX FOR 2020

In 1992 I stumbled into a record store in San Jose and an album chose me: Vinx, I Love My Job. To this day, it’s a Top 10’er for me. And they way his music and percussion make me feel has been captured by song, but never artists or even full albums.

Until the past few months. Where similarly, a beat in the background of a commercial sparked me to Google Search lyrics and fall into the world of @owusugenesis . #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the chutes that pulled me into this discography. It’s magic. Whatever you’re tryin to do. Whatever team you’re rollin wit. Whatever vultures are circling. That voice and flow and sensibility is the feeling I got 30 years ago from Vinx, a booming voice, a layered track, and a hand drum. Leggo.

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MY DUDE or I LOVE YOU HOMIE

That’s it. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for you. And this spirit. And I want to do all in my power never to squash it. 🙂 Be you. Just. Be you. But your best you. Always.

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MY FAVORITE STORYTELLER BECOMES MY FAVORITE STORY or HBD DADDY

The post below. Well it says it all. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the picture below (one of our few believe it or not) and the stories you told and taught. Mom just tried to tell this story a few weeks ago. You’d have laughed at how miserably she failed. Ha! And loved her even more profusely because of it.

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GIVE A DAMN or POWERFUL INDEED

Let’s not forget. You survived. But you are not a survivor; not defined by what what someone did to you. Took from you. Forced on you.

You survived. You aren’t a survivor. You are a force. Who at one point survived but at all other moments, you simply thrived. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful and most of us too, give a damn. Thanks for the share Purna Patel

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JUST WATCH or JUST WATCH

If you aren’t a blubbering mess after watching, watch again. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for moments like this, captured.

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485 POSTS LATER or REFLECTING ON BEING GRATEFUL

It was great to read this post. I’m working my way back into this format generally and am excited about it. I don’t yet have the passion to do this publicly every day; I may move it to my blog. But for now, again, one of the best things Facebook does is capture a moment in time for you, and then, surprise, inspire and delight you (or emotionally wreck you) at the most unexpected moments. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for this post and what I learned from it.

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