Thankful
It’s that time of year again. Time to remember to be thankful for what we’ve got, thankful for our opportunities, and thankful for each other. I try to do a thankful post every year, and this year is no exception.
I am thankful for my lovely home. After a rough start last year, we were able to land in a really nice, really big townhouse that suits us to a T. Each girl has their own bedroom, and I have a really nice office area that also triples as a sewing room, and a guest room. The guest room continues to evolve as people come to stay with me; my mother was the most recent guest, and she liked it so much that she stayed eight weeks. I am glad to be able to offer private space to my friends and family who may want to come visit. It’s way better than having to sleep on the pull-out couch. My house has a fireplace, and a garden, and lots of windows. It is in a nice neighborhood, and Tater has lots of friends right on our block she can play with. The “back yard” is shared green space that overlooks a pond teeming with wildlife every day. We have two giant apple trees that produced upwards of 1200 pounds of apples this year. I love my home.
I’m thankful that I continue to be healthy. There’ve been a few ups and downs, like finding out in August that I have a severe peroneal tendon tear, and will eventually need surgery. My orthopedist is a good guy, and has me patched up enough to keep going on the exercise routine I started in May. While I can no longer walk on a regular basis (I was walking 2-3 miles every day), I can still walk some, and I can do other things that I never contemplated doing.
Which bring me to my third thankful. I am thankful to have a mother who cares about me and my future, who insisted that I get a bike and start riding it. I had not been on a bike in at least 35 years. I’m fat and out of shape and have terrible knees, so who would have thought I could bike? Turns out I can bike just fine. Yes, it hurts my knees. It leaves me sore and achy afterwards. But the ride is still fun. Since I can’t walk like I want to, biking is a great substitute. Not only that, but I can bike to some local stores to do some small shopping. It’s not just good for me, it’s good for the environment.
And while we’re on the subject of my mother, I’m thankful to still have her around. I’m thankful for my dad and step mom, and my brothers and their wives and kids, and all the extended family that have made me who I am. I’m very blessed to still have these people in my life. We may be a thousand or more miles apart, but I can always just pick up the phone and call. Any time.
I’m thankful for my husband and kids, without whom I would not be a wife and mother. Being these things is one of the greatest vocations in life. I don’t think I’d like myself if I wasn’t a wife and a mother.
I’m thankful for a decent job, and even more so, I’m thankful for the wonderful students I work with every day. They are sometimes challenging, sometimes blissful. They keep me on my toes. And my student workers are like my family of overgrown teenagers. They keep me young, and make me feel useful.
I’m in my second year of living in the most beautiful place on the planet. I have no plans of ever leaving here. It took me 35 years to get here, which is about 10 years less than I planned. This means I can still enjoy it while I’m young enough to do things. I may not ever get to ski, but I’m still going to hold out that hope. I’m going to take care of myself so that if the opportunity ever arises, I’ll be ready for the challenge.
As we eat our turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes two ways, corn, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce today, we are going to be thankful we live in a country where we can have four days off to celebrate being thankful by eating lots of food and watching lots of football.
Blessings to you, my friends. May you also find plenty to be thankful for!
