Lucky 13!  What a great day I had. My birthday September 13, this year Friday the 13th. As I was on the treadmill this morning, I decided to come up with 13 things that I feel lucky about.  Of course there are so many more, but here are the 13 things I feel luckiest about.

13.Persistence – I am, if nothing else, persistent. An annoying trait at times perhaps, but it is what has gotten me where I’ve gotten. Somehow, don’t know if it’s inborn, or taught, I pretty much never give up. Well maybe temporarily on tap-dancing and juggling, but I am really just postponing those till after nursing school.  The more I think about it, Faith is probably what drives this.  Instilled at a young age, faith in myself, faith that some power out there wants what’s good for me, and wants to me find the right path.

12. Food, shelter – To have easy access to nutritious food is someone many in our world, unfortunately this town, do not have.

11. Facebook – There, I said it.  While it can be a real time waster sometimes, I love being able to stay connected to people, and to get inspired by what they are doing. Overall, I think it enhances my life. Just this week I read a piece written by Maria Jacketti, someone who was at King’s College when I was. It was about a cat that her family rescued from the ground zero area in the aftermath of 9/11. But it was about so much more, I read it a few times because her writing told so much about so many, herself included. If you didn’t read it, look her up. You’ll be glad you did.

10. Doctors – I’ve been very lucky to have gotten great medical care from diabetes specialists, Dr. Ron Harris and Dr. Herbert Fellerman, and general medical care from Dr. Mike Kovalick. Dr. Drue Paden was another doctor who provided me with great care before his untimely death a couple of years ago. The reason I’m as healthy as I am is because they are the kind of doctors that stay up on things, and then apply it as soon as they see a need. Plus they listen to me, help me understand the hows and whys of things. 

9. Technology in general. I feel very lucky to have grown up in a time where new technological advances have come out so quickly.  So much of it makes a real difference in my life.  Blood sugar testing machines and insulin pumps as an example. But the advances in computers allowed me to have a great career. Technology had a great impact on my family of origin, allowing my dad to work from home before many did, and it brought our family closer together in general. It is an endless source of entertainment with my mother-in-law as she navigates the internet, and of course, Free Cell, her favorite use of the computer.

Today, when I went onto Google, there were birthday cakes where “Google” normally is and when I hovered over it, it said “Shivaun O’Donnell’s” birthday. WOW! That’s pretty cool.  The image above it from that. I couldn’t get the little part that said that to stay when I did a screen shot, but it did say it! Try it yourself if you use Chrome and use your google sign in.

8. Telephones – My mother used to say I was born with a telephone in my hand.  I love phones, and I love them more than I did before. I love talking on the phone, I love texting (not while driving though) and now I don’t have to remember numbers. Every day I just say “Call Mister Wonderful” and it calls my husband!  Plus now I can have my whole life is on my phone, and a couple of games too.  Of course, then when I misplace it, my whole life is gone. That’s when St. Anthony steps in.  He really deserves his own paragraph in this write up.  So does my husband for that matter.

7. Books – I love books.  When I was a kid, I said to my parents, “If I had to choose whether I was going to get locked in a bookstore or a toy store all night, I’d choose a book store.”  Back then, all night seemed such a long stretch. I’d like to be locked in a bookstore for a week! I love that I can now get my textbooks on my Kindle or print off a few pages to read in the doctor’s office, and I love that I have a stack of hardcover books ready to read when this semester is over.

6. The Beatles. Every time I hear a Beatles song, I feel lucky to have grown up with the excitement they brought to the world. My friends kids love them as much as I did, and I feel lucky that they connect generations after being together for such a short time.

7. Music in general. Lucky that my father was so into music, and it was always on, all sorts of things, Jazz, classical, rock, standards, whales. (Yes, whales.) It has enhanced every aspect of my life, helped me make friends, helps me exercise knowing I’ve got a playlist I won’t let myself listen to unless exercising. I always feel grateful that musicians followed their dreams. Chris’s mother plays the piano, and I always feel lucky to be able to experience live music as an everyday thing.

And now….the top 4  all “F”  words…

4. Feet, my two working feet.  and the overall very good health of my whole body. But I was watching my feet on the treadmill that made me realize how lucky I am for my health. I have legs that work, and keep me moving from work, to school, up and down three flights of steps several times daily.  A heart that seems to be in good shape. OK, I could use a new pancreas. Lungs that are free of the smoke that filled them for 15 years and a body that need not worry about ravages of alcohol.

3. Freedom – I feel so lucky to have been born into a society where my future wasn’t decided before I was born, or dictated to me by some power, familial or political, but has been limited only by my imagination and abilities. Every day I wake up and realize how lucky I am to be re-inventing myself again, to get the education and training I need to do a job I’ve always wanted to do.

 2. Friends. Besides the 783 on Facebook, I have 16 friends who aren’t. In those 799, there are at least 50 that would “drop everything and run” if I asked them too.  I know because they’ve done it, whether for births, graduations, sickness, operations, weddings, deaths, you are there for me. With Facebook, I’ve picked up new friends from old friends, and it’s great to see everyone’s life unfold. I always feel lucky that, as Sally Fields once said of the Oscar’s crowd “You like me! You like me!”

1. Family. So many words to say and you’ve seen many bragging sessions on Facebook. But this year I am focussed on making sure I am telling them directly, rather than just bragging about how great they are to others.  Since my parents are both no longer alive, I will tell you how lucky I was to have them, although I spent the first half of my life, or more blaming them for everything that went wrong in my life.  I had really impressive grandparents too, not the least of which was a grandfather, who though blind from the age of ten, raised a family of 7 children during the depression, played piano and organ, and earned a living as organist, music teacher and piano tuner.

Without these top 4 things, I would certainly not have the other 9.  How lucky I am, how lucky I am.