Reasons To Love Monday

This Monday started too durn early after too little sleep. I was dreaming that I was working at State Farm and it was close to the end of the day. A client's family came in wanting to add coverage for a newly acquired vehicle and had lots and lots of questions. In my dream I didn't remember how to work the quoting system and all my co-workers had left/were leaving for the day. I panicked and then remembered I just had to wake up to get out of the situation. Ahhhh!

My life doesn't involve dealing with last-minute demanding customers any more... it doesn't involve co-workers who sneak away leaving you to deal with stuff beyond your pay grade... would I trade all of this fabulous life of living with pain for the opportunity to work again? In a heartbeat.

But then I got up and took the pain meds I need to even think about getting out of bed... I realized that once again I'm starting my day with a migraine for the upteenth day in a row... and I remembered that line from Les Miserables that says, "Truth is given by God to us all in our time, in our turn."  I'm living the life I was meant to live and therefore, even in the painful, early mornings, I need to find reasons to embrace every day as it comes... I need to find reasons to love Monday.

• 1. Today is THE DAY I get my partials. After years and years of smiling very carefully to try to keep people from seeing gaps in my teeth... after lots of pain and lots of dollars, today I'll leave the dentist office with more teeth than I went in with. That's a good feeling. I know it will take some getting used to. I just feel very blessed to have been able to get to this point. I will be grinning like a Cheshire Cat in future photos. Hope you don't mind. Somebody needs to buy me a steak this week! 
• 2. I have to take Austin to work this morning as we're a two car family and have to go in three different places this morning but that won't always be the case. Matter of fact, I could just have him run me back home after my appointment and then he could have the car for the rest of the day and drive himself home. He's doing a great job and growing in confidence and I'm confident in him. It's a whole new world for us! 
• 3. I am starting the day with a headache but once the dentist appointment is over, it's a quiet day for me. I can rest and maybe this series of headaches will end. If not... I'll be heading to Urgent Care tomorrow for a toradol shot - or something - to get this thing in check. And for once in my life, if I'm not well enough to drive myself there, Austin can take me! 
• 4. Tomorrow is Tuesday! There have been several moving parts as we looked forward to this upcoming weekend (which starts on Tuesday night for Marvin) and fortunately, his schedule works out this week that if I can't go to him, he will come to me. We've only done that a few times over the past 8-9 months that we've been hanging out. I usually go to him because it's easier... he's usually playing softball on Tuesday night and working Wednesday and Thursday night but this week he can come up on Tuesday night and I love that our weekly date night(s) are important enough to him that if Mohammed can't come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Mohammed (metaphorically speaking). He's a good egg. I'm glad that our time together means as much to him as it does to me. That's the part that warms my heart the most. Most of my past relationships have meant me working my butt off to keep things together, putting the other person first but not being put first. I don't feel that way with this man. I feel like he works just as hard (probably harder) at making sure we have time together, whether on the phone or in person. It means a lot to me, maybe even more than he knows. 
• 5. Barring another migraine, tomorrow is another Cosy day. We had a really great time with her yesterday (Sunday). She did a great job going potty. She helped her dad wash the car which made for an adorable photo op for me. She is just an adorable, funny kid. I feel so blessed to be her Nana. 
• 6. I'm also still basking in the joy of a great FaceTime with Oliver last night. He had tried to pull his shirt off and it got stuck on his head. I got tickled at him and the more I laughed, the more he performed. He has a brilliant sense of comedic timing and he is also a very, very, funny kid. I posted a picture on Facebook and Instagram of his predicament. Marvin said his favorite part of the picture is how much I'm laughing... I love that even at a very young age my grandkids have a good sense of humor and actually like making me laugh. What a treasure they are to me! 

Although I'm going boldly forward in optimism, embracing the new week... it's with sadness in my heart. My mom's brother John passed away last night. He is the fourth of her siblings to die. I'm glad that he is reunited with mama and David and Linda and of course, their amazing parents... but I'm sad that Uncle John is lost to us here on Earth. I'm sad for his kids, especially my cousin Jason who I have had the opportunity to get to know better and visit with in the past few years. I'm sad for my sweet Aunt Ginger who has lost the three siblings closest to her in age in the past three years. I'm sad for John's lovely wife, Gerri, who has been such a joy to him in his later years and such a blessing to our family. I'm sad to lose another link to my mama, who I miss more and more every day. Marvin called right after I got the news last night and I was a tearful, snotty mess. He and I have had to walk through so much death in the short time we've been together: his son, my mom, his grandma, my Uncle... and I know that we are at the age and stage of life where that happens more often... and I'm glad that we have each other to turn to in those moments. My biggest RTL this Monday is that I'm not walking this path alone... I have my sweet man, who brings me so much happiness... my hilarious grandbabies... so many loving family members and now, once again, I feel reconnected to all of you. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll find plenty of your own Reasons to Love Monday this week!