A charmed life indeed...

A couple of days ago my niece, Steph, wrote a lovely post on her blog about living a charmed life. I especially liked her last question, "what's charming your life today?"

By asking the question, she invites us to share the magic...because the secret to living a charmed life is recognizing and acknowledging the gifts that come your way.

My friend, the other Kathleen, and I share a Google calendar on which we enter events for which we are thankful each day. It keeps us in touch even when we're not in touch. It keeps us aware of the little things going on in each others lives. It keeps us grateful even for the small gifts...especially for the small gifts.

Sometimes it's too easy to get caught up in the stress of the day. Sometimes we need a friend to remind us to look for the bright spots.

You know those crazy quiz e-mails that get forwarded around where you are supposed to fill in the blank about what your middle name is or what your favorite food is or what color socks you wear? Well, I think I'll initiate an e-mail quiz to all my friends asking them to list 7 things that brought them a moment of joy in the past week, and then to pass it on. Yep! That's what I think I'll do.

So, thanks for asking the question, Steph. Oh, and here's my list!

Things that are charming me today...
...playing with a new recipe
...phone calls from the ones I love
...a quick hello and kiss from my youngest
...moments of inspiration
...planning a surprise
...hearing an airplane high overhead
...watching the dogs play together in the yard
...the sun poking through the clouds
...scratching chores off my to-do list
...compliments we know are sincere
... writing

So...what's charming YOUR life today?