Many people, including myself, get so wrapped up in their day-to-day activities that we often forget to take time to “smell the roses.” Yesterday I was driving my parents to Morristown for medical tests and my mother, who is 82, commented that young people rarely appreciate their health. Admittedly, that is a typical comment senior citizens often make, but it is not only correct, it could easily be extended to include all of the good things that people enjoy and take for granted. I tend to reflect on the good things in my life when I write my end-of-the-year wrapup for my journal, but that is not really sufficient reminder. So here is a periodic listing of some of the things that make my life enjoyable:

> my family is absolutely wonderful. I doubt if there is anybody reading this blog who is more fortunate than I am in the family that I live with. That is something I should enjoy as much as possible since I will definitely miss it three decades from now

> my health is generally better than average. Only my back bothers me and, except in times of considerable stress, it is usually more of an inconvenience than a major problem. The fact that it was much worse than usual this year is not typical, and I expect it to improve once summer arrives and I have the chance to relax more

> I am one of those fortunate people who loves my job. It is definitely hard work, and moderately stressful even at best, but I love my students, I really enjoy being in the classroom, and I get the chance to spend my out-of-class time with a lot of great people, both students and teachers

> while I believe that materialism is rampant in this country, I am fortunate that our standard of living is high enough that we are comfortable and do not lack anything truly important. I cannot help but paraphrase the Rolling Stones in that “we can’t always get what we want, but we got what we need.”

> in addition to all the benefits listed above, I am also truly fortunate that my life has a passion which makes it even richer and fuller than the life of most people. I am referring to my love of reading and writing. Having so many books to read both for pleasure and for constant learning is incredibly satisfying, and being able to write nonfiction for a willing audience and fiction for myself are equally satisfying too

So if you ever catch me complaining here about some item of lesser importance compared to those above, feel free to send me an email reminding me not to “sweat the little things."