Happiness Abounds

As promised, it's not all Negative Nelly around here - there are plenty of things for which I'm super-duper happy and I'm not afraid to say it!

**No list can be complete without mention of my two best friends - the dogs. After little Beagle Gracie suffered a seizure at the vet's office two weeks ago, I realize how deeply I care for both pooches. And though that experience was scary, it put things in perspective and I see how precious each day is. I'm thankful I have such terrific pets and such a fun little family with whom I can spend my days.

**I'm glad for my love of documentary filmmaking. I can't be sure where it started, but I have a very early memory of sitting in my parents' living room at about seven years of age watching a documentary on PBS about a Holocaust survivor re-visiting some of the camps in Germany as a grown woman. The impact of that has stayed with me and now, I am riveted by documentaries and the often painful stories they tell. The insights I've gained from such films are undescribable, and I'm grateful I can appreciate this often under-appreciated film medium.

**Although I often complain about having gone to law school and deciding upon that particular career, I am quite happy that I have such a degree and opportunity in my back pocket should I ever need it. Sometimes I don't think of it as a benefit - more as a curse or some sort of embarrassment. But, in reality, it's not something I'd give up. I might change some of my choices here and there as they relate to my career, but the main decision I'd probably keep the same.

**Above most other things, I am supremely happy to be lucky enough to have grown up in the Pittsburgh area. At one point in my life, I would not likely have counted this as a blessing. You really don't appreciate things as much as you should until they are removed from you. Now, this is such a large part of my heritage and I am most proud of it.