In the middle of the night…I hear nothing. In the morning, there it is again…nothing. Nothing except the faint, slow sound of my son breathing. Breathing without struggle; breathing without interruption. After three years of fighting to catch his breath, Addison finally has what we all take for granted.

Three years ago, I sat in the frigid, sterile room of the NICU holding my son, trying to warm him and create as normal an atmosphere as I could considering we’d both just had major surgery. Above the quite humm of the florescent lights, I heard a slight gurgling in his nose. There was no mucus or any signs of a cold. I pointed it out to the pediatrician, and she told me it was nothing. That bubbly sound - way up in the bridge of his nose - rocked the foundation of my life, impeded my son’s growth, and dove me near the depths of depression and complete physical exhaustion.

I can tell you recipes for nasal sprays; remedies for allergic reactions; enema concoctions; and positions to prop children to help them sleep. And with Down Syndrome, there are these physical “things” that are hard to get around until the child’s body grows: a larger tongue, sluggish immune system, and smaller ear tubes, to name a few. The moment Addison snuggles into bed, his tongue tilts back just ever so slightly, and that tiny bit of mucus mulling around in his airways, blocks a good percentage of air. Imagine what it’s like to be on the verge of suffocating. Now imagine this all night long, when all you want to do is get into your dreams and under the blankets. Add a cold on top of all this, and it’s a breathing becomes gasping. To give an absolute formula to anyone on how to help a child breath is like trying to gather the rushing waters of a river into a bathtub.

Above all the cures, I will tell you the one that works. In fact it is the only cure, I can put my stamp and can confidently say all other professions will join in on with high approval ratings: Gratitude. It’s easier said than done. Try being grateful for EVERYTHING. That includes the hole in the ceiling, the ex, the cockroach scurrying across the floor, the food in the fridge, the gas in the car, the cranky boss, the air we breath, and yes, even the sleepless nights.

By unearthing the gratitude for everything, I’ve found a treasure chest of wisdom or sometimes just an AHHaa moment, where I can then move on more clearly to the next step or the next breath. Those nights where I hear nothing are the sweetest, most jubilant sounding of trumpets I could ever toot my horn at. And as we breath more easily, we can all get on with the other important things in life like painting the bathtub.

Living in Costa Rica is a lot like camping - camping lite. About every six weeks or so we get notified that we will not have water. Today, the water was shut off in three or four cities from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. At least this time we had notice.

There are days when I’ll walk up, turn a water faucet and….nothing. We either have missed the announcement or there wasn’t one. Because we had notice yesterday, we gathered all the buckets, bins, and baskets that didn’t leak to store water. Everyone was sure to shower before 9 a.m. When the water is off, I see how often we use it on automatic pilot: A little oil on my finger tips - I run to the sink. I always brush my teeth and then forget when I reach for the water that I can’t rinse. Flushing the toilets? The word was out early to follow the old saying: if it’s yellow let it mellow……

Not having water gives me the chance to be appreciate this liquid because most of the time I run on automatic and don’t give a second thought of how wonderful it is. One of the reasons I like camping so much, besides the fact that it is quiet, tranquil, and smells so fresh, is that I get in contact with what little I need to make me happy. I’ve gone deep, deep into the wilderness with no more than I can carry. Water becomes a precious commodity, and I am aware of every drop I drink.

In Costa Rica, we get all sorts of opportunities to be “without” what the developed world takes for granted. Electricity pops off and on; streets are often more pothole than pavement; and it can take a year or two to get a phone line. Instead of blasting away at the injustice of it all, I find it a chance to be thankful for the simple things in life I use every day without thinking. Remember the New Year’s panic of 1999 - 2000? People obsessed about running out of water, computers crashing, and the lights going out. News reports showed people stocking up on flashlights, heaters, and gallons and gallons of water. Most people in Costa Rica just went about their day and knew the water might dry up or the lights might go out, but no one gave it much thought. And if the electricity didn’t come back on, they knew the sun would come up in the morning.

As with every case of comparing Costa Rica and developing world, I see value in both that each could learn from the other. No one was more thrilled than me to drive on smooth, paved, wide roads in the United States. But a pothole here and there is maybe a little reminder to be grateful for the part of the road that is paved. When the water comes back on, we’ll be flushing and brushing right back with the best of ‘um.

We’ve removed all the contents of our suitcases and promptly have deposited them on my sister’s basement floor. Thrilled not to be anywhere near an airport, we settle into the routine of “visiting” (one of our favorite Midwest words). This “visiting” tradition is more important to me this year than I can ever remember.

Traveling with kids has always meant I get to do less of what the grown-up me would like to do. And, I’ve learned to be content with zoos and playgrounds and cutting short all my trips to these delicious coffee shops due to an almost, death-like boredom that overtakes my children as they wait for me to finish typing. But this year, I am so content and relaxed and almost - dare I say it - thrilled to while away the hours on the deck with the kids or trying to again straighten all those clothes on the floor. And when I try again and again to connect to the Internet and that $5.00 Starbucks card I just bought isn’t working and Addison wants nothing to do with the FREEZING interior and groovy decor, I pack up and move on. I may have said a few “bad” words under my breath as I folded the stroller into the back seat, but over it I got. And so quickly. I even amazed myself.

I owe this peace to my kids. I owe this peace to my family. These people who put up with all my goofy odds and ends. I sat across the table yesterday at Caribou coffee (where I later found out had FREE internet!) and saw the same blue eyes of a dear friend behind those slightly tinted glasses I’d known for years. After ten years, he still thinks I’m an O.K. person. And I am grateful I can be his friend again. We really always have been. Those ten years, well, I guess we all have gaps. A little filling in, and we were back to those carefree nights -the ones we used to spend as kids -playing ping pong and skating and just being. Funny it took me such a darned long time to get back to just being all over again. And this time, I have more. I owe my peace to it ALL: from the green peas Addison just slopped on to my lap top to the long summer nights and to all the hearts, and to all the hearts.

I don’t spend enough time being grateful for those little things in life. It is easy to take for granted - that in a flash - I would miss dearly if it wasn’t in my life.I am grateful for…my refridgerator, my feet, my sheets, my doors, my ceiling, my pens, my paper, my Internet connection, my elbows, my sink, the water that comes into the sink, my windows, my kidneys, my towels, my fingernails, my bed…………

So many of the people in the world live without the basics I take for granted. If we all stepped outside ourselves a few moments a day and thought, I mean really thought, about others, that’s where the change will begin. Political candidates can offer us nothing we cannot do for ourselves. Bookmark this site Miniature Earth to see a stark example of what exists outside our little worlds. Remember it and be grateful.

Since I’ve moved into a new home, it is a bit smaller, well quite a bit smaller, than my old one. But it gives me a chance to look at life from a brand new perspective. And I get to have a whole new batch of goodies to be grateful for.

I can see the mountains lit up at night as I type this.

I can now walk to get my groceries and to the movie plaza.

I get to plant a new garden.

My daughter has a new friend that is just a drive-way away.

For some reason, the cockroaches die all by themselves here. Every morning there’s a few on their backs - dead - so at least I don’t have to kill them.

Since my garage is also my laundry room, the car serves also as a clothes line and a place to dry the plastic animals after a kiddie pool is put away.

And above all, I have peace.

Everything that happens in a life can be traced to one thing: ourselves.

We have the power to create anything we want, if we have the power to live it; know it is true.

So, I know the sun is coming up tomorrow; I know the world will turn.

See how easy this is?

Ok, I know there’s a few more steps, and the scope is sometimes boggling to try to apply to our daily, rushed, crazy lives. But, if we can know as certain that what we want - all those joys, desires, blisses (the good heart ones, not the burn and crash ones) - are already true - the world spins delightfully, like a belly dance.

I’m the first to practice what I preach. Tomorrow I know I will be at the beach, soaking in the sun, listening to monkeys howl, and sipping coconuts.

I know I will think of you. And, I know I will be grateful.

Another moment to step aside and be grateful for all those things we have (and a few we have not).

• I am grateful that I am not that guy across the street carrying bags of cement in a construction zone.
• I am grateful my dogs have cute snouts.
• I am grateful for Wi-Fi.
• I am grateful my cellulite has reduced to resembling just a few splattered teaspoons of cottage cheese.
• I am grateful no one hides behind bushes and takes pictures of my thighs with those few remaining teaspoons.
• I am grateful for the full-service at all the gas stations in Costa Rica.
• I am grateful I do not have a wobble.
• I am grateful the Caribbean Coast in Costa Rica is undiscovered (shhhh, don’t tell anyone).
• I am grateful Eddie Izzard is going to be in a new television show.
• I am grateful my all the children’s teeth are coming in straight.
• I am grateful my hat is in the ring, for yet another day.

A moment please, for those simple pleasures in life:

- When your kids leaves the dinner table, full and nourished, but loads of nachos are still left.

- That morning when the snot no longer drips down the baby’s nose.

- When you get the check-out lane that just opened.

- Your husband cancels your dinner date, but since you’ve got the sitter, you get to go out with the girls!

- The milk is really cold and there’s a dark piece of chocolate to go with it.

- The baby falls asleep while playing on the floor.

- You buy yourself something new without looking at the price tag.

- That new book you ordered comes in the mail.

- A baby foal was just born down the block.

- Another month’s gone by and you have no virus on your computer.

- The moon is full.

- Giving away all those clothes you never really wore anyway.

- You never got that headache you thought was coming on.

- You finally edited one of those hundreds of home videos stockpiled in your drawer (and it was kind of good!).

- The kids love the crepes even though their runny.

- When you walk into the kitchen, no one needs anything.

- Taxidermy doesn’t turn you on.