When my alarm went off at 5:20 this morning I hit the snooze and turned back over because when I fell into bed last night, I was done done done and beat tired on top of that.

I told my friend about the trail work I’d done the night before and how much it had ‘tenderized’ me. Then, we got to talking about how grateful we were to have so much choice in what we do: no one’s forcing us to run for hours on end, we get to; nobody made us get up before the sun to meet at trailheads all over town, we want to; nobody told me I had to sling heavy tools in the dirt yesterday, it was a choice to volunteer my time because I care about the cause. We also get to pause – for pics and ooh-ahhing and whatever else we want – when and where we choose to.

We GET to do all these things – we don’t GOT to – despite any challenges or occasional inconvenience. Remembering this helps with perspective, privilege, and gratitude.