fantastic

this morning I got a wake-up call.
not from a telephone, not from my alarm clock, but instead, from a guy named ty.

ty works at the jcc, and is one of the people who staff the front desk. he's been there every weekday morning since last fall, and he's become a familiar fixture at the counter.
he greets us, and wishes us a good day when we leave.

he's never been overly friendly or gregarious, and has one of those faces that is very matter-of-fact and, well, somewhat unexpressive. he's not unkind, just not perky.
which is okay. too much perky at 5 am is jarring.

well, this morning, we had our usual exchange:

ty: how are you this morning?
me: I am fine (okay, tired, here ~ I rotate through my responses as the days pass). how are you?

and this is where the pattern varied and I was jerked awake:

ty: I am fan-tastic!

oh, wow. I was taken aback.

me: I want to be that . . . (grinning, heading to the--ugh--weight room).

I had to do some reflection.
because the truth is, I am pretty fantastic myself. I am healthy, I am loved, I love, I have people around me daily who give and receive hugs and words of love. my bills are paid, I have food in my fridge and gas in my car. my parents are still alive. I was nurtured and loved growing up. I feel connected to a loving universe. I have a job, I have a place to live. I can afford to own a pet and take care of him. I have future plans. I have dreams and goals and desires. I have spare tubes and cartridges for my bike tires.
I have a bike.
I have places to ride.
I have people to ride with.
I have a body that functions pretty darn well for being as old as I am.
I have longevity and intelligence in my genes.
I have children who are moving through life relatively easily.
I could list a thousand more things.

so from now on, I am going to remember just how fantastic I really have it.
and some day, when asked how I am, I may even be heard to reply,
fantastic.