We’ve all walked across them, the paving stones in front of Monroe Library that list the characteristics of learning in the Jesuit tradition.

We might not actively read them each time we step on them; I know I don’t.
But sometimes I do make a conscious effort to ponder what they mean to me.

And I have to admit, there’s one in particular that always reminds me of my shortcomings: appreciation of things both great and small.

Like everyone else, I get caught up in the day-to-day.

There’s never enough time to do the things you have to, much less accomplish those you want to.

There are papers to grade, tests to make out, meetings to attend, meals to prepare and eat, shopping and laundry to do.

There are family members to check in on, friends to catch up with, e-mails to answer, bills to pay.

Many days, I don’t even have enough time to make a “to do” list, much less work my way through it.

My last thought on many nights is of the things I didn’t get done today…and probably won’t get to tomorrow.

So it’s hard to stop and smell the roses, to take time out of hectic, ever-lengthening workdays, to see — much less appreciate — the big things. The small things have no chance at all.

On those rare occasions when I can get my head out of a book or my eyes off the computer screen, I do try to count my blessings.

With the exception of my father, my loud and crazy family is still intact.

We’re scattered from coast to coast – quite literally, California to Maryland – and we rarely get together more than once a year, if that.

Families can be the cause of great heartache, embarrassment and turmoil, but I do appreciate mine and try to remember to tell them so. They are a big part of me.

It may only be a small thing, but I appreciate the fact that my 9-year-old car is paid for, still running and hasn’t been lost in one of the enormous potholes currently decorating the city streets.

I’m especially appreciative of those rare occasions when I can find on-campus parking in under half an hour. (Note, I didn’t say “convenient” parking, just a place to put my car for the day that’s within a one-day hike of my office.)

I’m incredibly thankful for a personally and professionally satisfying job with supportive colleagues and students who challenge me every day to do my best.

Those students move me from tears to laughter some days and to near murder on others.
But I salute their willingness to work hard, even when I’m playing Sly and the Family Stone as background music while they’re trying to finish an assignment in class.

Now that my day-care virus and pink eye have abated, I’m grateful for good health and, thanks to a good chiropractor, a less painful life.

I try to remember to say a special word of thanks to my landlord each and every time he promptly fixes something at my rental house.

That’s not to say that I don’t long for more.

I’d be extremely appreciative of a winning lottery ticket, especially one with a nine-digit payout.

In the meantime, I’m working on counting the blessings I already have and appreciating them, big and small.