Free bagels - Gary, a friend and teacher next door to me, gave me two gift certificates for free bagels and cream cheese from Chompie's. We love bagels in our house, and Chompie's are great. And you can't beat free.
Drive-in - We took the kids to a drive-in movie Friday night. It was Sofia's first time ever, and the second time for the other two. We took Alex's friend, Seth, as well. The younger 3 sat on the roof for part of the movie. Sofia wanted to sit up there too, but I wouldn't let her. I thought it would be too much weight (next time, I'll bring something to put across the luggage rack so she can sit up there too). We saw How to Train Your Dragon and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We sat in camp chairs, ate Boston Market from paper plates, and then shared a bag of popcorn. Good times.
Best Daddy Ever - Sunday, I was running errands with Bella and Alex. We had an hour to kill while waiting for a tire to get repaired, so I went to In-and-Out Burger to get a burger for each of us. When Bella heard where we were going, she said "You're the best daddy EVER!" It was so sincere and sweet, and I realized that I won't have too many more years of hearing those kinds of comments (once the kids get older they don't quite gush like that for their parents). Right after she said it, she added, "Of course, you're my only dad." Bella, the analytical gusher.
Health - I'm so glad that even though my nose is stuffy and running, my eyes are watering, and I'm sneezing a lot, and I've been getting headaches, I don't have a fever or anything more severe that would cause me to miss work. I haven't had a true sick day in well over a year. It's probably just pollen from our mesquite tree, since blankets of the stuff are all over our front yard and constantly blowing into the garage.
Tires - Thankfully, on Friday, I had two intact tires on my car. And thankfully, one of the flat ones didn't cost anything to get repaired on Sunday. And thankfully, the other flat one will get fixed or replaced today. And a big thanks go to my little Subaru, who provides me transportation with no car payment. I thought I would have replaced that car 5 years ago, but she keeps chugging along. She turns 16 this year. Old enough to get her driver's license.
Clean Kitchen - Though we didn't get as much cleaning done this weekend as we'd hoped, the kitchen is much improved. All the counters are decluttered now, and it looks good enough to show to prospective buyers. The whole downstairs is close to being done.
Craigslist - I'm thankful for Craigslist for helping me sell stuff. It's free to advertise, and the buyers come pick the stuff up. Double win. Yesterday I posted our kitchen table and chairs, and somebody emailed me and said they'd pay me $30 more than my asking price if I'd save it for them for 3 or 4 days. I'm not desperate to get rid of it immediately, so no problem. I've never had someone offer to pay more than what I asked. Could be my best Craigslist sale ever.
Cristina to Baltimore - I'm thankful that we found a way to get Cristina to Baltimore for a Jin Shin Jyutsu training. And I'm even more grateful to the couchsurfer who is picking her up from the airport and hosting her for 6 days. I hope Cristina has a wonderful time and comes back renewed and full of joy. Our household needs a good injection of that.
Green grass - This might sound strange and trivial. I was looking at the website for Gainesville High school this morning, which had a photo of their baseball field. The grass looked so incredibly green. I felt a sense of relief and renewal just looking at it. Knowing that Gainesville is one of the places we might wind up at this summer makes me feel good.
There's plenty more I'm thankful for, but I have a class starting soon, so I have to wrap up. I'm thankful that I have a job teaching good kids. And considering the high today is 93 (34 C) I'm thankful that the air conditioning is working.
7 comments:
I stole the idea from someone else, but it feels like everyone has been in a funk lately and we can all use some infused gratitude. :)
Oh, you are hilarious and awesome! Your little analytical gusher! It almost made me cry to hear your appreciation of green grass, you desert family! It does seem you are due some of your native East Coast green!
We look forward to seeing Cris in MD soon, and I'm really glad you have those special pockets of things to be so grateful for - here's one more for the list, the fact that moving is a relatively infrequent event. It might be worth reminding, moving is one of those major life events that gets everything out of kilter and is stressful. You'll be out of this period soon enough! In the meantime, all the best with the challenging house tasks still ahead!
PS I totally get the gratitude thing! After no income for 5 years, I have a job (and a 95% completed PhD). Yesterday I bought 3 colorful pashmina scarves from a street vendor and an umbrella that opens by itself. It was quite the moment, and I felt really washed over with gratitude to be able to do it!!! :)
I. too, am thankful for things. I am thankful that you are moving from Arizona and I will be even more thankful if you stay in the states (only because CR is so far away). :) I will be even MORE thankful if your job takes you to CH and, of course, I would be most thankful if Asheville City offers you a job (only because that is the closest, most ideal location for maximum visits between family members, like us). :)
I know salaries are better in CH so I will happily settle for that. 214 miles sounds like next door compared to AZ. Cris's opportunities for JSJ are probably better in CH than Asheville unless CH is gluted with practitioners. Asheville supposedly has two.
I am thankful for you, Tag! You are the best brother EVER! Of course, you are my only brother, too, but still. I will list my thankful things on my blog soon. See ya soon!
Update on the Craigslist item: if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. The guy was going to mail me a money order. I got an email from him this morning saying he mixed up payments, and he accidentally sent me too much money. Could I cash the money order, deduct the cost of the table, and then wire him the remainder. I immediately smelled a rat. I googled "craigslist money order scam" and the first search return described how the scam works. So...our table is back on the market! I don't mind scams as long as I catch them before I fall for them. Keeps me on my toes.
Did you read the Craiglist email thing Amy posted in facebook? Funny stuff. Thought you'd appreciate it.
S
this was really sweet to read. miss you guys :)
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