By Pattie Mihalik

newsgirl@comcast.netI’m sitting on my lanai fascinated by a bit of nature as I listen to the sound of cracking thunder and pounding rain.While I’ve told you how frightened I am to be out in a thunderstorm, I like watching one when I’m safely under the protection of our covered lanai. In fact, whenever a storm blows in, I always head out to the lanai to watch it.For reasons I don’t quite understand, the birds are always so active at my bird feeder when it rains. I don’t understand why they want to fly in the rain, but there seems to be something about a storm that drives several different kinds of birds to the feeder in my backyard.Today, I’m marveling at the beauty of one particular cardinal at the feeder. With their eye-catching red coats, all cardinals are beautiful. But the one today is especially stunning. It is much rounder and brighter and much more dazzling to the eye.I think I’m going to tell my daughters when I pass on from this life and have to leave them I’m going to send a cardinal to let them know I am watching over them.As I sit here the sky gets brighter as the storm begins to clear. That fading storm makes me think about how it approximates life.Sometimes we are hit by a storm that drenches us in woe and makes us feel helpless, especially if the storm was sudden and fierce.But eventually the storm passes, the sun comes out a bit and we can feel hope once more.Ahhh, life is good.For me, that saying is much more than a T-shirt message. It’s an affirmation of one of my strongest beliefs.Life is good. Every little morsel of it.That incredible cardinal at my bird feeder today has me talking to myself as I proclaim, “Life is good.”If I sound even more appreciative than usual about the beauty of this amazing life we are privileged to live, it might be because I just came out of exploratory surgery and all went well. The surgeon said it found no problems. Everything is normal.Yet, from the time he told me I had to have exploratory surgery to find the cause of persistent blood in my urine, I worried.In addition to worrying about the outcome, I worried about the surgery itself, especially having to undergo anesthesia.I have a history of extremely bad reactions to anesthesia. The older I get, the worse it is.But this time the anesthesiologist took extra precautions because of my history and put a red band on me indicating no narcotics. He believed that was the problem in the past, and he was probably right.Half a day later, I feel great. No side effects at all.Life is good.Years ago I splurged for an overpriced teal blue T-shirt that says “Life is good” with a smiley face. Normally I don’t spend money on life is good stuff because I don’t need to.That proclamation is emblazed on my heart.I gave in and bought the teal T-shirt because I loved the color in addition to the message. I must love the color because I even picked it when I painted my house.But here’s the dumb part of owning that T-shirt. I don’t wear it that much because it’s so pretty and I want to take care of it.It’s just a T-shirt, for Pete’s sake.I try not to fall into the trap of not using my favorite things because they are “too good.” That’s the dumbest thing.I believe in rejoicing in every ordinary day, using my favorite things while I can. Or, so I say. But sometimes I still catch myself protecting something instead of enjoying it.Once, when we were on vacation, my husband bought me an expensive perfume I treasured.The problem was I treasured it more than I wore it. I told myself it was so special I had to save it for special occasions.Sadly, it sat for so long the composition of the perfume disintegrated. I saved it too long. But I told myself it would teach me a lesson. I would use everything precious instead of hoarding it.Yet, the other day I looked at my display shelf in my kitchen and saw the beautiful English tea set my daughter gave me a few years ago.Telling myself I don’t want to break it, I keep it on display far more than I use it. I realize I need to use it more instead of just admiring it and keeping it on a shelf.I love the feeling of using a special tea cup and feeling the love of the person who gave it to me.When I tap into everyday moments like that I always end up saying my little prayer of gratitude.Life is good. Thank you, Lord.Thank you for beautiful birds, for finding an umbrella in the car when I need one, for the light breeze on a hot day, for good test results.Thank you for the love of my family and friends.Ahhhh, life is good.Treasure it for the gift that it is.Contact Pattie Mihalik at

newsgirl@comcast.net.