...rumble, rumble...here come the trash trucks on their weekly rounds. Both bins were full this week, so I'm glad to see hear them stop just now in front of my house. Smelly and noisy they may be, but they perform a necessary function. I've lived in places where the garbage is just thrown out to rot in the hot summer sun. I prefer trash pickup.

I did my morning walk on the treadmill. I've been saying that I would take Fridays off from the usual routine of morning walks because of the trash trucks, but recently I've been more and more reluctant to slip into my old bad habit of excuses and denial. I actually wanted to take a walk this morning--mark it down on the calendar!

There was no chest pain this morning, and that's a big plus in my book. Walking is so much more enjoyable when every heartbeat does its job and doesn't send aches throughout your torso and neck. Yay!

I got on the scale. It registered another pound lost. I didn't believe it, so I got off, re-calibrated it, got back on. Yup. Another 16 ounces. Not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but I'll take what I can get (or, in this case, lose).

So life is full of little successes and setbacks. I rejoice in every breath for the gladness of the day, the music of the birds, the refreshment of dawn.

I raise my coffee cup in gratitude.