What's making me happy this week, XXIX

This was not the easiest week. I spent the earlier part of the week stressing out over our upcoming trip to Ohio for wedding planning and wondering why my car's check engine light had come on. (I'm going to find out tomorrow.) And then on Friday Adam and I woke up to the news of the theater shooting in Aurora, which isn't too far from where we live. Thankfully, we weren't there.

So this week, instead of focusing on what's making me happy, I want to focus on the things for which I'm grateful. Here goes:

• I'm so grateful for our family and friends who contacted me to make sure we were okay on Friday morning. We let our parents and siblings know we were okay first thing, but throughout the morning I received emails, text messages, and phone calls from people wanting to make sure I was okay. My heart goes out to the people who were in the theater that night, and to all the people who care about them. 
• Speaking of living in Colorado,  Adam and I both agree that living here is great. But unfortunately, the one thing it lacks is our families. I often feel homesick for my family, and lately it has been even worse. My dad was recently diagnosed with a rare disease, and it has definitely given me perspective on appreciating the time you have with the people in your life. This weekend, my aunt and uncle organized my hometown community to come over to my parents' house this weekend to help catch up on the home maintenance that my dad can no longer take care of. I feel terrible that I'm not able to just stop over at any time and help out, so it was incredibly heart warming to hear about all the people who care about my parents coming together to help them out during a rough time. It doesn't make me feel any better about being so far away, but it does make me glad to know that my parents are surrounded by people who love them.

In short: this week has been a gigantic reminder for me to truly appreciate the people I care about and who care about me. I'm so very lucky.