Gratitude Morning

Ten Things I'm Grateful for This Morning (not including Chuck and Claire and Casey, all of whom I'm grateful for every day)

1. Sunshine and not too much heat so far
2. That the cleaning lady will be here soon
3. My grande nonfat chai
4. That my dog wasn't killed when he took off running across the busy parking lot right next to W. Gray, dragging the chair he was tethered to at Starbuck's because the River Oaks patrolman roared up in his car and jumped out, scaring said dog into the traffic
5. That several people leaped up to help, even though that further panicked Casey
6. That Chuck left me half a banana
7. My tiny purple computer
8. That Kim is going to have a garage sale in a couple of weeks and I can clear out some junk
9. That my friend Amy's sister-in-law the attorney called with encouraging and kind words this morning, even though I'd previously sent her an e-mail in which I made a smarmy remark about attorneys in general and she was gracious when I apologized
10. That I still weigh about 12 lbs less than I did when I was working and my summer shorts, though not all THAT attractive, fit.

Let's talk about what co-dependent means

I'm ruminating on something a medical professional told me the other day about co-dependency. A very bad word, you know. It means you do too much for other people at the expense of your own well-being. Ok. I get it. I should not take on the world's problems, especially right now when my own situation is so precarious.

But let me ask you something? What if that's how you're wired? What if what's important to you . . . what gives your LIFE meaning . . . is taking care of other people? If helping, nurturing, linking, loving, giving to, and befriending people come naturally to you? If those activities are what make your life complete?

Are you a hopeless co-dependent? And if you quit doing that, what DO you do? The opposite is selfish ass-hat. I can only make myself so many f*cking tablecloths.

At the expense of spending eternity in hell (and let me qualify here that I don't believe there's a hell after this; this is hell, specifically, the main parking garage at MD Anderson), I'd like to point out that the life actions of Jesus Christ and other figures whose tenets inform the religions of the world could be perceived as co-dependent.

Discuss.