As I sit here in the dark keeping watch over my little Elysse, the thought of a grateful heart and right attitude stand firm in my mind.

Sleep eludes me right now.

An hour ago Elysse got sick to her stomach, but being the strong girl she is she just calmly listened to my soothing words as I held a little trash can in front of her. Then came the cleanup and putting the dirty sheets and covers in the washer. Any sense of exhaustion I had felt, gone.

Celeste has a nasty cough and congested nose. And I think, how thankful I am for this exact moment, that as tiring and worrisome as it can be, I am grateful to be living it.

This morning on our usual drive to my mom’s house, I noticed how quiet the streets were. Kids are on Christmas break and most adults probably had the day off. As I was heading north on Greenville and neared the intersection at MacArthur, I was keenly aware that there were no cars heading south bound and no cars in front or behind me. The green light ahead just lit up waiting for me to pass it.

Whenever I’m about to cross an intersection where no cars are traveling parallel to me in the opposite direction or in front or behind me, I always slow down and make sure to look both ways because I think, if some car comes out of nowhere, I’ll be it’s only thing in the way. As I got closer to the intersection and glanced both ways, in the split second that I glanced right, when I turned to look left, a silver 4 door car suddenly sped right in front of us completely running its red light. I managed to hit the breaks and stop just inches from it!! I was momentarily stunned.

The car could have ended up T-boning us and either hitting just me or both Elysse and me. When the magnitude of what could have happened finally settled in me, I thanked God for watching over us and prayed that the driver not hurt anyone in his/her journey to wherever he/she was headed. I thanked God for making sure I was aware, that the girls were quiet, that I was focused. And thanked God that instead of being hit by that car, that our girls were now safe at their Abuelita’s house and I made it to work. Most importantly that we are alive and well.

In all of today’s fullness, errands, fun and joyous moments I thought, I am here to experience it.

Zig Ziglar is right when he says that a positive attitude will have a tremendous effect in our lives. It doesn’t mean we will get everything we want, but it does mean we will be appreciative and thankful for what we have.

I’m awake, somewhat tired, and Elysse keeps sitting up suddenly because she feels she’s going to get sick again. And as I hold that trash can in front of her, as I see her small frame and hear the slight wheeze in Celeste’s breathing, I am tremendously grateful to be here, right now.