I am sitting here on the couch, with my puppy, feeling so much love in my heart.  And feeling so grateful.  For everything.  For the amazing people in my life.  For jokes and laughing and wit and silly banter.  For my family.  My friends.  My clients. YOU GUYS and your comments and tweets and shares. The internet, for how many cool I people I get to meet through here.  For the opportunities I’ve been given.  For Coach (duh…obviously).

Today was one of the best Valentine’s Days I’ve ever had.  Not because I did something fancy, or even had a date, but because I’ve been reminded about what really matters to me.  Love and gratitude.

I received this completely unexpected bouquet of flowers from a friend tonight.  With a note that said the most amazing things.

I cried (still am…just a lil).  My heart is filled with such joy.  I literally dropped to my knees and held that note in my hands and stared at it in disbelief.  I couldn’t believe someone was so thoughtful.  I felt so warm and cared about.  I felt like my effort is mattering, even if for just one person.  That I’m doing a good job.  This completely changed my day.  Stopped me in my tracks.

It is literally one of the nicest things someone has ever done for me.  And I feel like a million bucks.  (Thank you friend…you know who you are).

And as I sit here and reflect on this, I think about how important it is to show gratitude and thanks for the people that matter to us.  My friend changed my day (life?) with one simple gift.  It means so much more to me than just flowers.  And the lesson here is gratitude.  A little goes a long way.  My friend probably had no idea what kind of impact this would have, and I can’t explain it, but it feels like this gift is marking the beginning of something really big and important for me.

So here’s the lesson.  Be grateful for people in your life that matter to you.  Then tell them.  It could, potentially, change everything for them.  And at the very least, it will brighten their day.  It did for me.  So much.

And I will leave you with a song from one of my favorite bands, Diego’s Umbrella.  There’s a line in there that says “a little bit of love goes a long way.”  Indeed.  It does.

Richarson by Diego’s Umbrella

Have you ever had a similar experience?  Leave me a comment and tell me what you’re grateful for.