GRATITUDE LIST

#1. FREEDOM
#2. FAMILY ( CHECK TODAY'S POST)
#3.MAGICAL MEMORIES (ALSO TODAY'S POST)
#4. DEAR FRIENDS
#5. RECOVERY
#6. SPIRITUALITY
#7.AMERICA
#8. CHOICES, KNOWING I'M ON THE RIGHT PATH AS A RESULT OF THE RIGHT CHOICES
#10. BEING TOTALLY HONEST, NEVER HAVING TO WONDER WHAT I'VE SAID

HELLO, EVERYONE:
WOW, I'VE BEEN QUITE LAZY IN POSTING, AND I DO APOLOGIZE. IT SEEMS THAT A LOT HAS TRANSPIRED FOR ME AND I'M NOT CERTAIN WHERE TO BEGIN. SO, ON THIS VERY HUMBLE DAY I THINK THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE PAUSE TO REMEMBER SEPT. 11TH, OUR FALLEN FRIENDS, FAMILY HEROES, AND EVEN OUR ENEMIES. WHAT A DEVASTATINGLY SAD EVENT FOR ALL OF US. PLEASE LET US NEVER FORGET! SO, I'M SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT MY WONDERFUL TURN OF EVENTS THIS WEEK. BECAUSE OF THE BAD CHOICES I MADE FOR MY LIFE , I HAD ALIENATED MOST OF MY FAMILY. IT HURTS ME DEARLY EVEN THOUGH I DO KNOW THAT IT IS NO ONE'S FAULT BUT MY OWN. SO ON SEPT. THE SEVENTH I EMAILED MY DEAR LITTLE AND MOST BEAUTIFUL NIECE, ONE THAT WAS STILL IN COMMUNICATION WITH ME, TO PLEASE PASS ON AN EMAIL TO HER BIG SISTER OF A HAPPY BIRTHDAY MESSAGE, FOR THE NEXT DAY. SHE SIGNED IT FROM HER FAVORITE AUNT. I ALWAYS TOLD THEM I WAS THEIR FAVORITE. THIS NIECE, MY SISTER'S OLDEST DAUGHTER, IS FULL- GROWN NOW WITH CHILDREN OF HER OWN. A VERY BEAUTIFUL GIRL, AND BECAUSE OF MY MOST SELFISH SELF I HAVE MISSED MOST OF THAT. HOWEVER , WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WE WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE, AS I WAS WITH ALL MY BEAUTIFUL NIECES AND NEPHEWS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I ALWAYS TOLD THEM ALL THAT I WAS THEIR FAVORITE AUNT. WE WERE ALL MUCH CLOSER IN AGE THAN MY SIBLINGS AND I WERE, AND I SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. I MISS THEM ALL SO VERY MUCH.
WELL, MY LITTLE NIECE DID IN FACT PASS ON THE BIRTHDAY MESSAGE. I KNOW EACH OF THEIR BIRTHDAYS AND ALWAYS HAVE, AND EACH AND EVERY YEAR WISHED THEM A SILENT HAPPY BIRTHDAY. WELL , WHAT AN INCREDIBLE GIFT! I AWOKE THE VERY NEXT MORNING TO AN EMAIL FROM MY BIRTHDAY NIECE. I SIMPLY CRIED AS I READ IT OVER AND OVER. IT TOUCHED MY SPIRIT VERY DEEPLY, AND ON SO MANY LEVELS. FIRST, THAT SHE RESPONDED. I WAS OVERCOME.
SECOND, IT WAS A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR ME: MAYBE I HAD A CHANCE AFTER ALL TO RIGHT SOME OF THE WASTED YEARS, OF MY SELF- CENTERED PAST.
THIRD, SHE HAD RECOUNTED MEMORIES FROM HER CHILDHOOD OF ME AND HER GOING TO THE 7/11 TO BUY SLURPEES AND PENNY CANDY. THEN SHE REMEMBERED MY LOVE AND TALENTS FOR ART. THIS TRULY AWAKENED MY HEART AND INSPIRED ME. I WANT HER TO KNOW, AND ALL OF MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS, THAT, YES, I'VE ALWAYS REMEMBERED YOUR BIRTHDAYS. I WOULD LOVE TO SEND A CARD OR AN EMAIL. THIS IS UP TO YOU. THE BEST PART: SHE KNEW IT WAS FROM HER AUNT JODY, BECAUSE IT WAS SIGNED, YOUR FAVORITE AUNT.