Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my uncle's death. I put in a cassette tape from an old answering machine that I've held onto for all these years. He left this message only hours before: "Happy birthday Katie-girl. May you always be blessed and loved." His genuine smile and voice annually MMT.

Today, I met a woman who has down syndrome and whose motor skills have slowed to almost a standstill. Although it takes her several minutes to get a simple sentence out, she managed to tell me that she feels lucky to be alive and loves the beautiful world she lives in. MMT

Today, he asked me to marry him even though I have an incurable cancer. MMT

Today, my brother in-law insisted on helping us move into our new house. In fact, he was the only one who volunteered to help us. And he’s had to use a wheelchair his entire life. But to my surprise, he was an extraordinary help. His arms are insanely strong and he’s more agile than I ever imagined. MMT

Today, after the funeral, I went back to my parent’s empty house – the house I grew up in. As I gazed around in awe of all the great memories we made in it, I noticed an old photo of my parent’s in their 20’s sitting on the coffee table. In my father’s handwriting, across the back was written, “In this moment, we were infinite.” MMT

Today, I asked her why she always gives so much of her time and money to charity, church, and the local homeless shelter. She replied, “If we all give more to each other, we all end up with much more for ourselves.” MMT

Today, my six-year-old son is a happy, beautiful little boy with special needs. The doctors said they didn’t know if he would ever talk. Just before his fifth birthday, he uttered his first word, and his language has grown significantly since then. Every time I hear “I love you, Mommy,” I know how lucky I am. MMT

Today, after slowly recovering from anorexia over the last year, I ate breakfast for the first time in nearly 10 years. MMT

Today, I asked the 70 year old man enrolled in my piano class what inspired him to learn to play the piano at his age. He said, “For the last 52 years my wife would play me a few melodies every Sunday morning after breakfast. And now that she’s gone, I want to keep the tradition alive.” MMT

Today, as I was stuttering over my words, trying desperately to tell my father that I’m gay, he simply said, “I know, Greg. You’re a little different. We all are. It’s what makes life so interesting. Don’t sweat it.” MMT

Today, I stopped to chat with the office janitor like I do every Monday morning on my way into work. And at the end of our conversation he grinned and said, “You know, you’re the only one who ever stops to talk to me around here, and you’re the President and CEO.” MMT

Today, hanging on the side of a steep cliff in the Rockies, I met a man with an artificial leg who could rock climb far more proficiently than I can with all my limbs. MMT

Today, a young man in a wheelchair purposely rolled in front of a robber that grabbed my purse off my arm and then grabbed it back out of the robber’s hands. The robber was so stunned, he stopped and stared at the young man for a second and then ran away. The young man then tossed my purse back to me. MMT

Today, I am best friends with a girl I met in rehab 20 years ago. And every time I see her smile I’m so happy I had to go to that place. MMT

Today, on his 67trh birthday he said, “I believe I am going to accomplish something truly amazing in this lifetime.” MMT

Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.” MMT

Today, I realized my 12-year-old son has lost weight recently, but I haven’t noticed any change in his eating habits or physical activity level. So I asked him about it and he said, “Oh yeah, I’ve been sharing half my lunch with Gordon, a homeless man that sleeps on a bench near my school's bus stop.” MMT

Today, I finally met my 8-year-old son’s new best friend from school, Kyle. For the last month, all I’ve heard about is how wonderful he is, and how they did this together and laughed about that. When I met Kyle this afternoon, I immediately realized he was missing an arm. But my son never once mentioned it. MMT

Today, after evaluating the concerned expression of self-doubt on my face, my mother said, “You just have to do your own thing, your own way, no matter what anyone else thinks or says about you. It's your life!” MMT

Today, she passed away. Five years ago when doctors set a time limit on her life, she began to live more life every day than most people do in a decade. She traveled, started a successful charity for ill kids, and donated one of her healthy kidneys to a complete stranger who faced death without it. MMT