It’s almost time to make pancakes.

My daughter had a slumber party last night, and the girls are all stretched out in front of the TV in their sleeping bags, eating Honey Nut Cheerios to quiet their growling tummies.

6 am is too early for chocolate chip pancakes, in my opinion, so I made a cup of coffee and hid away in my office.

I’ve been finishing up work this morning for the job I’m leaving. wrapping up loose ends on projects, training my replacement, and keeping commitments, all while continuing to develop this business.

Yesterday, I looked through the stack of books I borrowed from a colleague, and I’ll be shipping them back to him, but not before I jot down the titles of the books I want to buy for my library.

The first book this colleague ever sent me: 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer.

This is the book that is top on my list to buy. I used it as reference to use while creating a social media marketing strategy for a book launch. It’s dog-eared, book-marked, and full of his notes and highlighting, his (now) familiar handwriting.

It has, sadly, sat unused on my shelf through two recent book launches, and it occurs to me that we often neglect the treasures that are so close to our grasp, not recognizing them until it is too late and time to send them away.

I don’t want to do that with my books; I don’t want to do that with my children; I don’t want to do that with my husband, or my friends, or my new team.

I want to — every day — recognize their value, enjoy them, learn from them. I don’t want to let any valuable thing collect dust on my shelf. I don’t want to take any cherished relationship for granted.

Tell me something! What treasures might you be neglecting? What can you do — today — to enjoy and cherish them?