6/9 5 Gratefuls

5 things that I'm grateful for this past week.

1. Talking. I know this sounds like something silly to be grateful for but its true! Sometimes talking just helps. Whether its about a problem, trying to work out a solution or sharing something amazing that happened. Having someone to talk to is great!
2. My date night with my wife. I had good food, a Wolverine burger at Red Robin!, we watched a great movie, Iron Man 3, and had plenty to talk about. It was a nice refreshing break from the week 
3. My artistic ability. I don't like to brag or boast or even claim that I'm artistic in any fashion but I'm glad I have the ability to draw. Lately I've been carrying around a small sketchbook and just jotting down notes and doing quick doodles whenever I can. It's very therapeutic to just work something out or to just let go and simply play with pencil and paper.
4. My sister. She always helps out when she can and even when its not needed she helps anyway. My wife and I owe a lot to her and she is way more appreciated than we can ever show her. 
5. My friend, Sabz. I had a really crappy day earlier this week. She might not have made it complete better but she reached out in such a way that it helped make a huge impact. She showed love and caring when I needed it. Others did as well and not to downplay them at all but what she did to put a smile on my face left me totally speechless. 

My Amazing Nephew

Earlier today at work I ran into a coworker. We have a mutual friend who is also the mom of my nephew and Godson. My coworker was on the phone with her and when she found out she wanted to talk to me. As soon as she got on the phone she told me that my nephew was AMAZING! I kinda laughed and asked what happened and she was confused about my reaction. She asked if I heard what he did. I honestly hadn't and I told her that.

She proceeded to tell me that yesterday her son, another boy, and my nephew were playing hacky sack by the school that's across the street. One of them kicked the ball on the other side of a wrought iron fence surrounding the playground. The wrought iron fence is one of those that has the straight poles with the points at the tips. So the other kid climbed over, tossed the hacky sack back to the boys, then started to climb back over. His foot slipped and from what she said is that his leg got impaled by one of the poles and that it went clean through. She said her son and the impaled kid started freaking out and panicking, but not my nephew. He immediately made sure the boy was ok, lifted him off the pole although she's not sure how he managed to do that by himself since her son was panicking and not helping. Then when he freed the boy of the pole, he laid him down, applied pressure on the wound and called 911 on his cell. An ambulance ride, and emergency room visit later the doc said pole was centimeters from an artery but that the kid was ok.

I was completely stunned and amazed. Not only did my nephew not freak out and panic but he reacted and sprung to action to help someone in need. He assessed the situation and weighed out his options to help his friend. Then he knew to put pressure and call 911 to get him the quickest medical help possible. I think this is amazing and very commendable. I am proud and happy to hear how he reacted and that he helped someone. His dream job is to become a paratrooper medic for the Army. If I had any doubts in how he would handle that job then they have been settled. I'm so proud of him and his accomplishments that he's done and that he's so modest about it all. If he does pursue the career he wants I would be honored to know that such a young man is helping to protect and serve our country.