​I was standing in line at Chipotle, waiting my turn to place my order. No matter what time I go, there always seems to be a line. The man in front of me had a list and was ordering meals to-go for his entire family.  When he got to the register, he looked over at me and told the cashier, “Add her meal to my bill.”
 
I immediately said, “That’s so nice of you, but you don’t have to do that.” He replied, “I want to. Sorry for the extra wait.” I was still in shock, but thanked him, and walked out the door with a smile on my face and my free Chipotle dinner in hand.
 
This complete stranger had no idea of the long day that I had, but because of his random act of kindness, I ended that day feeling joyful. 

​Happy New Year! For many people, January means making New Year’s resolutions....and then breaking them days, weeks, or months later. I used to be one of these people, but five years ago I decided to make a change.
 
Instead of resolutions, I simply picked one word to focus on for the entire year. I saw such positive results, that I have continued selecting a new word each year.
 
Here are my words from previous years: 

In 2019, I made a personal goal of blogging once a month. Some months I knew right away what I wanted to write about. Other months, the words didn't come so easily, but I wrote anyways. 

With blogging, you put your words out there, not knowing who (if anyone) will read them. I never know if people will connect with what I'm sharing. Because of this, each year, it's interesting for me to see which blogs were read the most. 

Here are the Top 10 blogs of 2019 

​“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?” Anytime I hear these song lyrics, a smile comes across my face, and I immediately picture Fred Rogers putting on a red sweater and changing into his sneakers. And for some reason, I always feel a sense of peace and comfort. 
 
I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. At the time, I didn’t realize how much of an impact this show would have on me...or the rest of the world. For 31 seasons, Fred Rogers invited us into his neighborhood. 

​I feel like I’m running in circles 
There’s no end in sight 
I feel like I need some closure 
To get this off of my mind 
The past is now behind me 
But I still feel like it defines me 
How can I move on 
It’s been so long 
 
In the midst of my weakness 
You are strong 
In the midst of my trials 
You help me hold on 
In the midst of confusion 
You bring clarity 
In the midst of the darkness 
You help me to see