Thankful Thursday

I went back to work on the 6^th, the kids started yesterday, and I’m grateful for the return to routine.  Even if the routine involves chaos and more frozen food than I would like, I’m extremely glad to get back to it.  My summer was waaaay too short, I got done exactly ONE of the thousand things I eagerly stayed up late fantasizing about while searching Pinterest, and my toddler is potty trained but still not quite ready to give up the sippy cup. 

I’ve tried for years to get myself into some sort of a writing routine with about as much success as any other routine in my life, which is to say very very little.  Remember how often I get back out of bed to brush my teeth (and lately I’m sorry to say I’m dragging poor Echo with me because I didn’t even get hers done). 

A recent project at church has inspired me to try something small however.  We were handed a list of all the church members and friends, committees, groups, and even beloved former pastors.  Each name had a date next to it – the idea was for everyone to focus an extra prayer on that day just for that person or family or team.  So simple – say a little prayer when you normally pray, asking God to be there for them.  The power of group prayer is wonderful, and just to know that my family was being prayed for on that day was pretty amazing. 

One a day.  Just one little addition.  Those experts we all hear from frequently from the TheySay Company Incorporated, LLC tell us that if you make one little change every day, you can change your whole life in just a matter of months! But wait! That’s not all! Order now and… oh sorry, this actually is kind of true. 

I’m not looking to commit myself to something daily because that’s so… well, hard, frankly in my line of work (just being me, I mean).  No, I’m going to commit to a weekly project, and I have chosen Thursday because it is quite often the only night of the week that I’m not chained to someone else’s schedule. Thursday shall from here on out be known as the day I submit to you Three Things I’m Thankful For.  (I kinda have a crush on alliteration.)

So please enjoy finding out more about my life as I share them with you.  And if it inspires you to be thankful for things in your life, that’s wonderful – please share!  Or if it just inspires you to brush your teeth more often, that’s awesome too. Thanks for reading.

I’m thankful for my coffee cup.  I found it at the dollar store, and it’s the perfect size for holding loving with both hands on cold mornings.  It’s clear, which I really like because I had a horrible experience this last summer when I drank a fly.  Apparently the little guy needed a caffeine boost or was just suicidal and French Vanilla was the way to go.  They don’t usually show much interest in plain unsweetened coffee, but this one ended up in my black Minnie Mouse cup and I took a big gulp.  Immediately on feeling something strange in my mouth I ran for the sink and spit. Seeing the soggy dead  fly laying there in the sink sent me into an absolute frenzy – I don’t flinch at much, but this was more than too much.  I started gagging and crying, I rinsed my mouth with hot hot water, I considered a bleach rinse, I thought about having a fly IN MY MOUTH one too many times and actually threw up, brushed my teeth about seven times, spit repeatedly for over an hour because I was afraid to swallow, and then got interrupted mid-trauma by Echo waking up from her nap.  She was genuinely concerned about me, so I finally calmed down about it.  And put my beloved Minnie cup in the back of the cupboard.   This one allows me to see any possible contaminant, and I’m much happier now. 

I’m thankful for my wonderful, smart, perfectly normal, healthy kids.  I know, everyone has wonderful kids, but I’m blessed with four amazing young people.  I really do feel very fortunate, especially since I started working at a school.  I see over a hundred children every day, and I can’t help but compare them all to my own, and I realize how lucky I really am.  

And I’m thankful for my ex-husbands.  Yes, I am.  What they have taught me about myself has been humbling and empowering.  While I have ZERO interest in dating anyone else, I have learned that whether I ever find Prince Charming or not, it doesn’t matter.   I don’t NEED a spouse or a boyfriend to verify my value to the world.  Yes, there are things I miss about the few months of my life that I was actually happily married, but overall, to know my own worth as JUST ME is pretty wonderful.  I apologize to my family that it took two failed marriages to figure that one out.