If you are looking for the Saturday Afternoon Book Club, click here. I was wandering around in a state this morning at work. I couldn't find my shoes, and I had no idea where they were, so my feet were sweating in my boots. I couldn't pick up my emails because the ones in my Inbox were taking up too much space. I made the mistake of looking at a calendar and realized that December is less than 24 hours away. I was irritable because I woke up late and I did not have my morning coffee. It's really hot at work, and it’s dry, and I was complaining because sometimes I get nosebleeds from the dryness. My fingers were bleeding because I get hangnails and rip them off with my teeth sometimes. It's Friday and there is a lot of work that I meant to do this week that did not get stroked off my To Do list. I still haven't lost that 20 pounds that I was so determined to lose eleven months ago. And then my coworker, Olga (and friend, too, really), said it: “There’s no reason to be stressed, because you are blessed.”  Whoa. I stopped dead in my tracks. Ok, well, I slipped a little in my boots, as they were getting swampy. [caption id="attachment_14323" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My friend sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to me at work – I almost burst into tears because it was such a beautiful sight on a cold and grey day.[/caption] I started to think how blessed I truly am. This week alone, I had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to my office from one of my best friends. There's nothing like fresh flowers to lift a mood: The colourful blooms, artfully arranged in a vase, are a beautiful thing – like a little hug from nature. And this particular bouquet had two huge pink peonies, which used to grow right outside our front door when I was a kid growing up. As soon as you'd open the door, you could smell the fragrance in the spring. My mom called me last night and told me she had made some lentil soup (she makes it with real lentils, not the canned ones that I make it with and the texture and the flavour is unbelievable) and she had saved me a container. My sister dropped in with some Montreal-style bagels that I love. My son gave me a lovely birthday card, thanking me for being his mom (haha he has no idea what a difference he has made in my life). I got a pair of gorgeous new shoes! I went out for breakfast with my friend Cheryl. I laughed at some of the ridiculous things my coworkers said. And laughed out loud at a very funny personal email. I started to think, These are good problems to have. And it's true. I have a mom. I have a son who is an inspiration to me. I have a few good friends. I have some amazing meals. And people in my life who make me laugh and feel loveable. AFTERNOON UPDATE: I have shoes to lose (I found them btw, they were in the staff room at work where they hold the exercise classes). I had a coffee and something to eat (soup and a bagel). I deleted some old emails, now I have room for new ones. Christmas is still almost a month away, I'm good. I used a nasal spray. With so many people out of work, I am lucky to have work to complain about. As for the 20 pounds, there’s my resolution for 2013. Done. How about you? Do you feel blessed?