Saturday December 17, 2016

Today I am thankful for Barbara... Barbara is the person who owned my care before I did. It was Barb's when it was brand new... Barbara was smart enough to buy the model with heated seats and to have a remote starter installed... These are wonderful things to have on a day like today with wind chills in the double digits below zero. And tomorrow sounds even worse...

But team O'Hara is home safe and sound and our house is warm. We are grateful for that.

I had a great week at work. This week, the show I help produce, Mayo Clinic Radio, reached a high water mark - we now have 139 affiliates around the U.S. that carry our program. We get to interview experts on all different health and wellness topics and share that knowledge each weekend.  It is an honor to know that the information we are able to share is helping people all across the country. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.

So, Dan, Erin and I all need to get through one more week of school and work before we can settle in for the holidays...

I do love getting the mail each day at this time of year. For us, it's a mix of two positive things - Christmas cards and donation checks.

We run a holiday fundraising letter campaign each year for the Shannon O'Hara Foundation. It is truly humbling each day to see the checks arrive, big and small. We are grateful for that, too.

And, the holiday cards that arrive bring a smile to my face, too. I love seeing the pictures of people's children and grandchildren. Poignant, yes. Our Christmas card will never be complete again. But, life is full of beauty and joy if you focus on the right things...

"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." - Henri Nouwen