This week, I am thankful:
that my pipe leak was right above my utility sink
I am not thrilled that a pipe sprung a leak this week. But I am happy it was right above my utility sink; the drips just went straight down into the sink.
If you’re going to have a leak, there is no better place!
that the pipe issue is not my problem
This is a perk of renting; the plumbing issue is not my responsibility. It got fixed and I did not have to pay for it. 😉
that my class is almost done
This is week seven out of eight. (!!!!!!!!!)
And I already did next week’s assignments, which means I just have to get through the group project that’s due this week.
OH YESSSSS.
a previous project for this class
I can’t believe I have almost survived this one. I may shed a few tears of relief when I submit the last assignment.
that my dental insurance actually covers some stuff this year
Last year, I still had the self-pay dental insurance, and I tell you, I don’t think they paid a cent toward my dental care!
But this year, I have the insurance through my hospital, which means I am not covering 100% of my dental bills. Yay!
Honestly, this is one of the best perks of my job: better health insurance.
that my glasses prescription did not change this year
Yay! This means I can keep the pair I have.
that I’m unlikely to be put on call at work
When our census gets low (as it does if a bunch of our surgical patients get discharged all at once before a weekend), sometimes the charge nurse has to put nurses on call.
Being on call is pretty annoying; you have to be available to come in if necessary, but you only get paid $1/hour to be on call.
So you can’t go and do anything much with your day, but you are also not really getting paid.
Anyway, since I am a new grad, I am in the lowest-paid nurse group. The upside of this: I am one of the last to get called off because I am fairly inexpensive to bring in for a shift. All the higher-paid people get put on call first, so the charge nurse is basically never going to get to me.
We take a win where we can. 😉
that the winter solstice is about two weeks away
You guys! Two weeks from Sunday is the day! Then the days will start getting longer instead of shorter.
That’s so close. 🙂
The darkness is making me grateful for my little $5 lamp that I bought with my fun money.
Also, I know I say things like this all the time but I looked at this photo and felt all happy inside, thinking about my rental house that is my own space, filled with things that are so very me.
For instance, in this photo there’s a secondhand bed frame, a curbside-picked, rehabbed table, a free mirror from my Buy Nothing group, and a $5 Ikea lamp from Facebook Marketplace.
I honestly think this makes me happier than a house filled with new things!
for my divorced friends
My friends Kristin and Maureen were in an online group for women leaving marriages such as mine, and we met back in 2022 when I joined.
The group has since disbanded, but the three of us have stayed fast friends ever since, texting regularly. And every now and then we do a Zoom call to catch up with each other.
blurring them out bc they don’t necessarily want to be on the internet!
I’m so grateful for their friendship, and grateful for how we all have navigated this mid-life transition together.
The friendship is the very best thing we got out of that group experience!
Kim from Philadelphia
Sunday 7th of December 2025
Ironic that they are most quickly willing to let go of the higher paid (aka most experienced) nurses first. I’ve been a healthcare provider for 26 years, so sadly I’m very familiar with this
Kristin
Sunday 7th of December 2025
I worked almost 20 years as a lab tech and took many nights of call for $2.00 an hour. Good extra money when you got called in but I do not miss it at all! I found an IKEA lamp for myself and I love it! I love lots of little lights for the for the long winter nights.
Irena
Thursday 4th of December 2025
$1 an hour? Is that even legal? I thought maybe it should be $1 an hour extra.
Everyone should be paid their rate + if on call.
Didn't understand how higher paid people were on call first? Is that because they need most experienced? Because those folks want to be on call? Confusing.
Irena
Thursday 4th of December 2025
The kitchen sink in my rental apartment sprang a leak. First, thankful that my home health aide could clean out all the items under the sink so there was access to check for a leak, which she did and found.
We have a terrific super with whom she and I have a good relationship (It helps to thank people profusely and to tip during the year, not just as end, for services.) and luckily he was literally across the hall in another apartment and was right over to see what we needed to fix.
After purchasing some pipes, etc, he returned and fixed and by mid-afternoon, back in business. There is nothing as valuable as professional and caring staff in an apartment building (especially in a major city). Super grateful that this is done. Fourth time since I lived here that pipes had to be replaced, so it averages to every 10 years or so, new pipes.
I got super sick this week (Severe nausea, vomiting, stomach pain). Been there, done that before, but this was out of the blue when, otherwise than a painful to use right shoulder and arm, which made it excruciating to get in/out of the wheelchair as I must do at least once every hour for bathroom trips (OAB)...I was OK. But I must have eaten something because, first the nausea, then the pain, then the vomiting.
My PCP is part of my OneMedical membership and he's great, but the system to get to him is sometimes annoying. However, the 24/7 service gives you access to other medical personnel who can expedite things like scrips and orders (I needed a bed rail, which became a saga that ended when a friend said: Hey, let me just get this for you as an early Christmas present (She's a nurse and she knows all about paperwork for insurance, etc and how it can be so challenging.) when it could not be obtained locally.
Two different NPs helped to get the DME order (Too long a story to tell how alleged medical supply stores did not have the simplest basic item either available or not covered, which it is.) and put me up for a video visit with my PCP. Most important: Having been through this with my stomach multiple times, including ER and hospitalization, I knew what anti-nausea meds I needed and I got the scrip sent out.
Then, again, my aide to the rescue to pick up lidocaine patches, pedialyte and my meds.
So, thankful to many angels this week who worked on my behalf. I could not have done it without them. (My aide, the multiple OneMedical folks, my PCP, my super, and my case manager nurse/friend as well as my other pals who texted me while I was in agony.) Also special kudos to those medical folks who listened to my convouluted discussion about how/why I could NOT go to the ER, and didn't argue with me, but accepted my determination.
I am also grateful that I can go online and look for items I need and can then order for pickup or delivery on same day. (My aide usually shops for me, but sometimes you don't know exactly what you want and, worse, in store prices are often substantially higher than the online prices for same product!)
Finally, I am grateful that I can and do have a pantry stocked with chicken broth, chicken noodle soup and saltines. These are pretty much all you can ingest when recovering.
Juhli
Thursday 4th of December 2025
I need to restart this weekly practice - So I am thankful for - My younger DIL who has a birthday today and who radiates enthusiasm in all she does. - That our newly 9 year old granddaughter likes to come spend Friday nights with us and sleepover. She has commented that I'm not boring and that being with us is fun lol. - That I received an access coupon to the local Columbia employee store and suggested to DH that we go there to look for Christmas gifts for him since clothing replacement was high on his wish list. He found 5 items all 50% off this week. Merry Christmas Hubby. - That our home is so much more comfortable this winter since we spent the money to have the floor above the crawlspace and the attic air sealed and insulated to current standards. Our first two winters in this house were chilly. - That my hope to enjoy this holiday and birthday rich season is working out with out too much stress.