36, Day 6

There’s a thin line between blessed and spoiled. I am very blessed, but too often I take that fact for granted and thereby trespass into the realm of spoiled. Yesterday afternoon I helped my dad do some minor remodeling at the hotel and it dawned on me how fortunate I have been and how little I have appreciated it. Two things I realized today: one, this little town is really nice to look at from any of its many high hills and two, I’ve been fortunate to spend a great deal of time working with my dad for most of this year. Dad and I have been working at the Comfort Inn doing minor remodeling and painting since March. We’ve painted, landscaped, built and any number of other things, mostly on Mondays, but also on weekends and afternoons. Even if you live here, its worthy staying a night at the Comfort Inn just to get to enjoy the view of Pulaski from there. You can see Martin College, the courthouse, Quick Mart, the bypass, all the way to the high school and all the way to my house. I could literally sit for hours and just look at how beautiful this little town is. There is nothing more soothing than spending a day painting, listening to music, and feeling the breeze in the spring, while looking out over the whole town.

What has made this all the better is the fact I’ve been hanging out with my dad throughout all of this. My dad and I have always gotten along and had a lot in common, but since I’ve grown up, gotten married, had children and worked a full time job, we haven’t had a lot of time together. The necessary consequence is that we have drifted. We still love one another and get along just fine, but relationships have to be cultivated and for many years we didn’t get to do that. The shame is we’ve lived next door to one another for eight years and gone to church together for twelve. What can I say, life gets in the way. Working outside with him today it dawned on me that I have been spoiled. I have had a great blessing for a long time, but I haven’t appreciated and cherished it and it won’t be long until the opportunity is passed. I made a decision today that it is going to be my priority these next four months to focus on these blessings. It’s amazing what you can see when you take time to stop and look around. Standing on top of a high hill yesterday with my dad, I saw much more than my hometown, I saw how blessed I am.