I've been a terrible blogger and writer this week. There's a lot on my mind. Decisions, choices, opportunities, worries, and a moody boy who turns 13 today. I spent a lot of time playing a stupid, stupid, stupid video game that will go unnamed, because it is so so stupid.

When I was a kid, my parents often dumped me at my grandfather's apartment in the Bronx. My grandfather, who had many good qualities, was also a chain-smoking alcoholic who played solitaire for hours on end. When he wasn't taking me to the corner, old man bar, I sat at the kitchen table quietly playing solitaire next to him. When I'm thinking, I revert back to my four year old self and play repetitive games of strategy. 

Recently, I spoke with a perpetually unhappy person. She tried to spread some of her unhappiness my way, because unhappy people like to share their unhappiness. According to all the pseudo-scientific happiness studies, she possesses all the key variables for a happy life, but she was unhappy. Really, being happy has nothing to do with quantifiable variables and everything to do with attitude – recognizing good fortune, savoring the quiet, beautiful moments, and detaching one's self from material possessions. 

In between all this thinking time, I have been soaking up all the good things in my life, because it's so obvious that my concerns are GOOD concerns. How lucky am I?