Thank you Mr. Valet!
I have to admit to lacking in self-discipline in many areas of my life. It’s been amazing to admiringly witness people who seem to have that rare knack at setting and chasing goals with the persistence and commitment of Clooney looking for scraps of food on the sidewalk Sunday mornings! I had an awesome roommate a while back who made these lists to define his objectives, direct his efforts, and while I never knew him not to make those lists; based on his productivity, I have to conclude that the results were phenomenal! While I tend to use self-deprecating humor liberally in this blog, I’ll break the mold and relay a complimentary observation I had early this morning.
Had you asked me 20 years ago where I’d be living as I approached 40 years of age, Portsmouth, NH, would not have been on my radar. But wow, how grateful I am to find myself in the Port City! The mere fact that Krempels Center is located at the town’s community campus would be enough, but the small town feel and friendly nature of downtown truly makes it a gem! If you surmised that I just returned from a walk with Clooney after reading this posts’ introductory paragraph…Bingo! While my AM walks with Cloonman are disciplined in their routine, being a committed Dog Dad isn’t the reason for my self-adulation this morning: To be honest that adorable face whimpering that he’s famished at 4:30 AM doesn’t leave me much choice.
As I did my morning routine just now, I saw that each day since 12/23/20 I’ve made an entry in my gratitude journal. A gratitude journal, in my case is simply the date with a few things that I’m grateful for listed below. In past posts, my difficulty with pushing away guilty feelings to allow for gratitude has been a theme and this practice has conditioned me to allow gratitude to become more automatic when experiencing joy. I’m thrilled that I’ve added this practice to my morning routine with today’s list being the first ever appearance of “Mr. Valet”.
As noted above, living in downtown Portsmouth really is a blessing! There are a number of residents who I come across just about daily who I consider friends and always share a warm greeting with. No matter the time of day Clooney is escorting me around town, I’m bound to see at least one hard working valet attendant pounding the pavement. While Clooney almost always gets a pat and a “Hey Buddy!”, today one of the Residence Inn’s valets put me on cloud nine! As I bent over to do my dog owners’ duty and clean up after Clooney, I heard, “Wow, you really are doing great!”
I can’t say that I recognized this particular valet, I have to give myself a pass due to the fact that it was pre-sunrise: Thanks Clooney!, but he must be a veteran who’s been around for a while. I’m coming up on 14 years living downtown and I suspect that he’s seen me progress quite a way from when bending over to pick up after a pooch was a precarious move. After receiving a bit of recognition for my physical recovery this morning, I say thank you Mr. Valet, and you’re officially on May 15th, 2022’s gratitude list!