30 days of Gratitude--days 27 and 28

For Day 27, I'm thankful for the internet.

It makes staying in touch with my distant family easier.  Finding things to do with the kids.  Finding places.  And recipes.  (I kinda love looking for recipes...)

I love the internet because it's introduced me to some really wonderful friends, places, ideas...it's made researching my own health conditions and how to improve them without drugs a lot easier...it's like a library. And I do love libraries.

For Day 28, I'm thankful for local libraries.  And we have some awesome ones around here.  I mean really.  Someone is letting me borrow ANY OF THEIR MANY MANY BOOKS.  For FREE.  It's an amazing system, an amazing idea, and a wonderful place.

30 days of Gratitude--Day 26

Today, I am grateful for...days like today.

I had both the kids home with me today, because school was out for the holiday weekend.  And usually, that means a day full of constant screaming and fighting and crying and throwing things and chaos.

Today was different.  They were quiet and cuddly and sweet to me and to each other.  I had time to unpack boxes and make lotion bars and look for things and play a few rounds of Plants vs. Zombies because they were just being nice.  I didn't have to raise my voice once, which is good, because I have been trying hard to nurse my sore throat back to normal today.  Normally for me that means lots of water, lots of honey, and lots of lemon slices.  Today it also meant lots of hot tea--particularly cinnamon tea, because it reminds me of my mother.

And the jeweler called and said my ring is ready.  I didn't mention that yet--I broke my wedding ring a couple weeks ago.  I was putting the dishes away and got my ring caught on a drawer pull (who DOES that?  SERIOUSLY) and it yanked the center diamond--the one that was part of my engagement ring--out.  I found it, and I was VERY glad to have done so.

I took the pieces to a local jeweler, because I don't tend to trust big name diamond merchants (wonder why that would be), and they told me everything they could about it.  I was there for a while!

So.  Good kids, lotion bars, tea, honey and lemons, getting my ring back tomorrow...I'm very grateful for days like today.

30 Days of Gratitude--days 24 and 25

Day 24--I can't believe I haven't brought this up yet--I'm thankful for my health.

I have a number of issues.  I have cholesterol problems, and I can't really seem to do much about it.  I've tried, honest I have--it just doesn't work.  It's like my liver doesn't care how many plants I eat.  Either way, I'm on meds for that.  Pleh.

And I have some other issues too.  I don't like talking about them, because it's aaaaaaawwwwkwaaaarrrd, but it's me, so here it is:  I've been pregnant five times.  My son and my daughter are both, mercifully, healthy and rambunctious today.  They have another brother between them who died when I was a month away from delivering him.  His name was Ian.  After we lost him, I lost one baby at 12 weeks and another at 8 weeks.  I breathed a sigh of relief when my daughter arrived safely.

And as irritating as the former is, and as heartbreaking as the latter is, neither of them are debilitating.  I can run.  I don't have any issues with breathing or lifting heavy things.  I have no long-term or terminal illnesses.  And for that, I am truly grateful.

Day 25--I am thankful for my church.  It is a large one, and the service we attend is loud, enthusiastic, and full of really great people.  And they're working for some good things in the community, which is important to me.

30 Days of Gratitude--Days 21-23

Yesterday was mayhem.  Cooking and unpacking and oof.

For day 21, I'm thankful we live in a good school district.  The one we moved out of was not so great, and we would have likely wound up sending our children to private school just to keep their education from sliding too far.  Our son has been doing really well, and I'm really proud of him there.  A lot of people love to hate on "the schools", but we have some good ones.

For day 22, I'm thankful we have a backyard we can just let the kids play in.  They could play in our old backyard, sure, but there wasn't a fence, so I constantly worried about cars barrelling down the alley or stray cats or a number of other things.  Yesterday, however, was nice enough that, after we ate, we pretty much opened the back door and said, "there you go, go ride your scooters" and they stayed outside till dark.  With almost no issues.  It was great.  Now all we need is a trampoline.

For day 23, I am thankful for Black Friday.  I think it's insane and overdone, but if I want to get a microscope for $12, now's the time to do it, AND it means that I can go to the grocery store and take my SWEET time with everything today and nobody will bother me because they're all at other retailers fighting each other over $12 microscopes.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 20

I should be a bit ashamed of myself here.  I never did say anything about my in-laws.  So today is for them.

We might drive each other nuts more often than not, but they're still friendly and generous.  And they're still a huge part of everything my husband is today.  (And again, with the driving nuts thing...but I digress.)  We're learning to get along better and that's important.

So today I am thankful for them.

30 Days of Gratitude--Days 18 and 19

Today, a double post (again!). For day 18, I am thankful for Cub Scouts.

I realize that's a sensitive issue.  But my son was so excited for the idea of becoming a scout, and it has helped him in ways I didn't foresee.  He is at least a little more organized, he is more obedient, and he is quite  serious about the Cub Scout Promise.

On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to my God and my country, to help other people, and to obey the Law of the Pack.

I know that any time he starts getting out of control, or not listening, I can tell him to remember the Law of the Pack.  And he will get himself together.

(Also, nothing reminds me how well-behaved he really is like going to a den meeting.  HOLY COW.)

For day 19, I am thankful for a law.  Specifically, I live in Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania requires annual vehicle inspections.  And as much as I haaaate paying for inspections (and anything that turns up during said inspections), I am grateful that, say, problems with my brakes get found BEFORE I careen into the back of another vehicle at the bottom of a steep hill.  And since steep hills are plentiful around here...

Maybe day 19 should have been gratitude for having a good mechanic.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 17

Today I am thankful for weekends.

This is a busy one for us--my son had a Cub Scout thing today, he has another one tomorrow, we went to IKEA to get some new dressers for our room--but for all of it, we were all together, and we had all day for it.  

Okay, maybe going through IKEA with the whole family is a little more chaos than I really appreciate.

But still.  We had a lot to get done and I was grateful to have a good day for it.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 16

Today I am grateful for books.

This isn't going to turn into one of those posts; at least, I hope it won't.  I just love to read.  I love discovering new stories and planning who would play each character in the movie, if casting was up to me.  I love learning little things about the world and imagining what faraway destinations look like.  I love archetypes and finding them in stories.

The fact that we can learn so much from them is just a bonus.  :)

30 Days of Gratitude--Days 14 and 15

I've already kind of bombed NaBloPoMo, haven't I?  Oh well.  Counting my blessings is still a good thing...

Day 14--I'm grateful for the change in seasons.  I might not like winter, but when I say that I usually mean that I don't like snow, or salt all over the place, or the sludge at the edge of the road that turns gray with the exhaust of passing cars.  But I do like soft sweaters, and warm mugs of cider, and crock pots full of soup, and football.

And I might not like the extreme heat of summer.  But I do like sunshine and days by the pool and popsicles.

I'm grateful I get to experience both, and I've never really lived anywhere that didn't offer both.

Day 15--I'm thankful for the Disney Channel.  I know that sounds weird, but...

We watch a LOT of Disney here.  Mostly because I have two young kids.  My son is less interested these days, and admittedly a lot of the shows are a bit dubious, but there's no foul language for them to pick up.  Nothing to give them nightmares.  No stunts they're going to try to imitate.  And--this was my favorite part about it until last Tuesday--NO POLITICAL ADS.  Which means I completely missed all of the juvenile "MY OPPONENT SAID THIS!" sorts of ads.  My election season was peaceful except for the people who came to my door to try and force their opinion on me, and I credit that largely to the Disney Channel.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 13

Today, I am thankful for my friends.  They have gotten me through many things, probably without even realizing it.  Or without meaning to.  They got me through the loss of my second son, the loss of my mother, the chaos of my pregnancy with my daughter, moving halfway across the country.  They have helped me laugh more.  They have come to me when they needed rides somewhere or help making a meal.

It's been wonderful having all of them around me.  I am never lonely.

30 Days of Gratitude, Days 11 and 12

Day 11--since everyone is doing it, and since I've already been grateful for our freedoms, I'll take the 11th to be grateful for the soldiers who provided it.  I lived in a military town until last year, so I was a little closer to seeing how their families were affected, but it means I also got to witness homecomings.  The times I would be driving down the street in time to watch a man in uniform get out of a car and have someone come flying out of the house and into his arms always brought tears to my eyes.  Theirs too, I'm sure.

But even if everyone has been saying this today, it's important to remember how many times we've come close to losing everything.  World War II, after Pearl Harbor, the fighting wasn't here.  The most recent war, after the attacks, the fighting wasn't here.  We sent our soldiers thousands of miles away for all of that.

Day 12--The bumper sticker I've seen related to this says "If you can read this, thank a teacher.  If it's in English, thank a veteran."  So today...I thank those who have educated me.  All of them, even the teachers I don't really want to thank because they made it their business to tell me I was kidding myself by setting my goals high.  But also the ones who said "Screw those people, let me show you a really cool algorithm."  Even if I'm not using my degree today, I know I can because I had a lot of awesome people showing me the way.

30 Days of Gratitude--Days 9 and 10

I'm behind, so two bits of gratitude in one!

For Day 9, and in the spirit of Day 8, I am thankful for my husband's fraternity.  He is a Delta Chi and they're amazing.  I love his chapter brothers and I'm thankful to count them as friends.  (I'd say more here, but since I'm not a Delta Chi AND I'm not my husband, I'm not sure how to quantify it.)

For Day 10, I am thankful for my warm home in a nice town.  I love Pittsburgh (and our little suburb of it) and I love our house.  We just moved in last month, and I think we've gone a long way toward making it our home.  It's full of noise on a regular basis, but I guess that's the way I roll.  It is not lost on me how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and a refrigerator full of food.  I am thankful to be indoors, not hungry, and have at least a passing idea of what we're doing for breakfast in the morning.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 8

So, um, I forgot this yesterday.  :(  In my defense, yesterday was nonstop chaos.

For Day 8, I am thankful for my sisters.  I am in a sorority.  I don't often mention it, not because I'm not proud (I am), but because the subject doesn't often come up.

Joining Theta Phi Alpha was the best decision I ever made.  And I mean that in full.  It is why I met my husband, it is why I finished college, it is why I have some of the best friends I could ever have asked for.

I never, even for a second, entertained the notion of joining a sorority prior to my first semester of college.  Had no interest in it.  But then I got there, and it was huge and loud and intimidating.  I was 800 miles away from the only home I'd ever known, seventeen years old, and alone.  That didn't last long--I went to the Greek mixer and wound up talking to the most amazing group of women.  After five minutes, we were talking like we were old friends who just needed to catch up a little bit.  Ten weeks later, I was initiated.  Fourteen years later, I love them with all my heart.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 7

Today I am grateful for coffee shops.

Stay with me here.

We recently moved (as in, three weeks ago) and today, I went to coffee with my old neighbor, S.  S is a really nice lady, always offering to help people and always laughing.  I miss her, and I'll miss her even more when she moves to the other side of the state in the next few days.  So we got together for coffee, and had a nice long conversation over our lattes about everything--religion and the election and our mutual love for music and whiskey.  All the while, we watched as my daughter wandered around our table and made the man at the next table laugh.  She liked him too, and they kept laughing at each other.

I know coffee shops can draw some real unfriendly customers, the sort of people who scream at the barista and treat all the other customers as beneath them, but I've never encountered them.  The people I encounter in coffee shops are friendly and at peace with themselves and with the world.  Coffee shops bring out the best in a lot of people.  So I am thankful for coffee shops, and coffee and conversation with good friends.

30 days of Gratitude--Day 6

Today it seems pretty obvious, I'm thankful for our freedoms.

We live in a country that peacefully changes power on a semi-regular basis.  In other areas, that is completely unimaginable, because a change of power means a revolution.

Two of my friends this morning on Facebook posted about their paths to citizenship, and how proud they were to take that path.  My neighbor (at least, my neighbor at the old place) is from Syria, and she tells me regularly how amazingly free we are here.

We're free enough that I can come out and say it:  I don't particularly like either of the major party candidates.  But I do have one that I prefer over the other, and I am free to keep my silence on that matter and carry it with me to my grave.

Whatever happens in the days to come, the vast majority of my freedoms will not be in jeopardy.  That is amazing.

30 Days of Gratitude--day 5

Today, I am grateful for my faith.

I am a miserable excuse for a Christian.  I am greedy and nasty and jealous and vulgar and angry.  But I am also blessed with an assurance that, one of these days, I'll be able to get past that.  My faith is what gets me through the worst moments and makes me want to dance for the best.

I love the Lord, and I am grateful that He loves me.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 4

Today, I am thankful for my children.  They are loud and constantly in my face and they freak out about everything.  But they are really good to each other, and they're adorable and sweet and thoughtful.  They know their manners and they're smart and funny.  I am so proud of them and so lucky to have them in my life.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 3

Today, I'm gonna be thankful for my sister.

We don't always get along, but she is awesome.  She is funny and smart and is a good mother and aunt.  I really have to admit...I'm not sure what I can say about her without embarrassing us both (but hey...we kinda grew up together soooo there's that).  But really.  She's amazing.  I'm lucky to have her.

30 Days of Gratitude--Day 2

Today I'll talk about my husband, because I'm thankful for him.  (See?  I told you I'd talk about him.)

When we met, he was the shy sort.  So it was really out of character when he walked straight up to me and introduced himself.  I was a shy sort, too...and being seventeen years old and in my first semester of college didn't help there.  But he introduced himself, and quickly became close friends.

He is smart and funny and sweet and I totally don't deserve him.  He is my best friend.  It is because of him that I have the ability to be a stay-at-home mom (which I love way more than I thought I would...but that is a post for another day).  He is my balance--when I'm ill-tempered, he's the calm one.

I don't get all sappy about him often, at least not publicly.  Mostly because I know it'll annoy people.  But if I were the sort to post every random thing that crosses my mind, I'd talk about him daily.  Several times a day, actually.

Our son is turning out a lot like him in every way.  And while sometimes that's really frustrating...it's also a lot to be proud of.

30 days of Gratitude--Day 1

I'm going to give this NaBloPoMo thing a try--and combine it with the 30 days of thanks thing I've seen a few people do on facebook.

Every one of my friends who is doing this on Facebook--all of them--started today by being thankful for their spouse.  Not that there's anything wrong with it...but I'm starting with my parents.

My parents.  I probably drove them absolutely bonkers.  But they were still awesome.  Mom was the one who always volunteered in our classroom, made cakes and candies, came up with all kinds of crafts...you know the sort.  I wish I was more like her that way.  Mom lost her battle with cancer two weeks after my daughter was born.  I miss her terribly but I am very grateful she's free of pain.

Dad was always building something when I was growing up.  He likes computers and carpentry and metalworking and...like I said.  Building stuff.  It amazed me then, amazes me still.  I get to talk to him often but I miss getting to hang out with him.

So that's today.  Today I'm thankful for my parents.

(Don't worry, being thankful for my husband is coming.  eventually.)