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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

I’m back home and getting reacquainted with our long-lost friend snow. I tell you what, I needed that vacation. It’s always so hard to pull myself away from work, but I’ve never regretted taking time off. It was the first time in four years where I was able to completely unplug. I wasn’t returning texts or emails throughout the day. I even went a few days without looking at my email. I didn’t receive a single phone call from the office. It was glorious.

I work with the most amazing people. It’s because of these awesome people that I was able to truly unwind. They are trustworthy, goodhearted individuals who do what they say they’re going to do. I knew if something came up, they could handle it. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked with anyone like that, but it’s awesome and I highly recommend it.

On my first day or two back, I went around and touched base with all my departments. They’d update me on what I missed and I’d ask a few follow-up questions. It almost became boring because they had thought of everything and were already taking care of it. A few times, I actually smiled during these discussions. Knowing me, I probably even said what I was thinking out loud.

I’ve always had some pretty great co-workers. I’ve also always had a few people on staff that were not. Maybe they were unreliable, incompetent or perhaps just argumentative. Whatever their shortcomings, they made work harder. I know we’ve all experienced this and frankly over the years, I just became used to it. I accepted the fact that there will always be at least one person who others have to clean up after.

I’m having this realization that I’m surrounded by all these competent, awesome individuals, and I’m kind of giddy about it. There’s a part of me that’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I don’t want to live like that. I don’t want to live in fear that my blessings will be taken away from me. I want to be aware of all my blessings and live in a state of gratitude.

I’m thankful for my family, both near and far. I’m painfully aware of how blessed I am that I have a kind husband and children who think my jokes are still funny. I’m grateful that I got to know my grandmother and that I can picture what her hands look like as she’s holding a mixing bowl. I’m thankful for the genuine friendships I have with people from all the different chapters of my life. I’m grateful for all the different experiences I’ve had, good and bad, that have given me knowledge, perception and empathy.

I’ve barely scratched the surface but I could go on and on until tears pour down my face. That in and of itself makes me happy. I have so many things to be thankful for. You may have noticed that none of these are huge earth-shattering experiences, but they mean so much to me. When you look for yellow cars, you see yellow cars. When you look for blessings, you’ll find them everywhere. You can even find them in the snow.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.