Thankful Thursday | On Thanksgiving Day
Hello, everyone!
Today is officially Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, but as you know, every Thursday is actually Thanksgiving Day here at The Frugal Girl. 😉
(Just without the pumpkin pie.)
Sooo, as per usual, I'm gonna make a thankful list and you can join me!
for the learning in a hard shift
Last week, I had an overnight shift that was probably one of the most difficult shifts I've ever had. You know how Nurse John does those skits about his fictitious patient Mr. Smith, who gets a little unhinged overnight and climbs into the ceiling?
My shift was kinda like that. Ahahaha. Even my charge nurse was like...."Whoa."
I also had six patients instead of my usual five, and I'm not gonna lie, I was starting to feel pretty stressed in the middle of all of this.
But in the end, I was able to appreciate the learning opportunities that came my way; due to the circumstances, I had to learn all sorts of new skills, I had to learn new documentation sheets, and I gave a whole bunch of meds I'd never given before. I learned while doing, and I'll be better equipped to take care of a future Mr. Smith. 😉
And I am thankful for the opportunity to take good care of my patients. During the shift, I remembered a simulation we did in nursing school to help us understand the distress experienced by patients who live with dementia and confusion, and it really did help me to have compassion.
Still, I was very happy to clock out to go home and sleep. 😉
I am also thankful that not every shift is like this and that not all my patients are confused; I am amazed at the giftedness of people who work in dementia-specific wards. Every one of their patients is confused!
that we as humans are so varied
Isn't it nice that some of us enjoy things others hate, and vice-versa?
One of my night-shift coworkers is amazed that I have no issue getting up at 5 am for a day shift, and I am equally amazed she chooses to work all night shifts (Bless her!)
There are some jobs that I would be miserable doing, but other people love them.
And there are things about my job that would gross out most people, but I am legitimately unbothered.
(I would give some examples here, but even a description would gross some of you out. Hehe.)
What a lovely thing it is that we can be happy doing different kinds of work!
for chilly morning walks
I drove to my waterside walking trail for a sunrise on Sunday morning, and as I pulled up, I was thinking about how much happier I am walking in the cold than in the heat.
I love the crisp air and the clear morning sunshine; to me, this is 100% more fun than walking in the hazy morning heat.
Annnnd this is why I would consider moving north, but I will not ever be moving to the deep south; I do not want any more summer than I currently have here!
for the joy of being on day shift
In the next six weeks, I only have one week of night shifts. Thank goodness!!
I 100% prefer the chaos of day shift (especially because my last night shift was just as chaotic as a day shift anyway!)
And also, I really, really like being able to sleep in my bed at nighttime.
that it's less than a month until the days start getting longer
You guys, we have only about three weeks of day-shortening left.
After December 21st, the days will slowwwwly start to lengthen again. Yay!
(Apologies to Lindsey in Alaska because I know she feels the opposite way I do. 😉 Lindsey, I support you enjoying your next 3.5 weeks of darkness.)
that there are only two weeks left in The Worst BSN Class
Unfortunately, it continues to be the most frustrating class of my life, and I could honestly write a whole 'nother blog post about the latest problems.
(I did fill out the course evaluation, and I was very honest about my experience.)
The only time my attitude is decent is when I am not working on homework; as soon as I get back into it, my attitude tanks!
So: two more weeks left. Two more weeks. I can hang in there for that amount of time.
The end is in sight and I am so thankful.
that I do not have to retake this class
I have a solid A grade right now, so unless some tragedy befalls me, I will have no trouble passing this class and moving ON.
If I had to do this class over again, I would seriously cry. I am grateful it's only gonna take one go-round.
for all of you!
Thank you for being here, everyone. I love the community here, and I'm grateful for all of you who show up so faithfully! You make this place what it is. 🙂
This week I am thankful:
* for spending time with one of my best friends yesterday. Her two daughters have also been lifelong best friends with my two daughters and they all moved farther away at the beginning of this school year. Everyone was thrilled to see each other yesterday.
* that putting up drywall isn't as bad as I expected. My in-laws are off to PA for a week and my husband and I are trying to surprise them by finishing all of the drywall in the addition while they're gone. It's a lot of drywall and I don't think I've ever done this before, but what I helped with last night wasn't bad. Also, I'm thankful that we're probably less then two months away from them getting temporary occupancy in the new part.
* for a good relationship with my middle school daughter. Oddly enough, I feel like we are doing even better as she has entered middle school. I'm so, so thankful.
* that middle school daughter's theater production went so well last weekend! I'm thankful for all of the family and friends (including both sets of our former neighbors) that came to watch the show. And now I'm thankful that it's over and our schedule can take a break. (Does the music take a break? No. We've switched from White Christmas to singing the Newsies already! Onto the next show...)
* that my kids are enjoying Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I loved watching those when I was a kid and now my kids want to watch them, too! It's fun to do it with them.
@Ruth T,
Watching those two games shows will help your kids' general knowledge and language skills. (But don't tell them, let them think it's just for fun!)
First, Kristen, I'm not thankful that the overnight shift in question was so rough--but I'm very thankful that you and others are making the effort to "understand the distress experienced by patients who live with dementia and confusion." As one of DH's best aides in the nursing home once put it, "It's their ocean, and we're swimming in it." A lot of times, we just gotta swim.
Now, my personal thankfuls:
Thankful as always for reasonably good health and a reasonably full life, given my age and situation.
Thankful for all my friends and for Betty cat.
Very thankful indeed that Bailey dog's mom, after a diagnosis almost two years ago of advanced ovarian cancer, has **finally** gotten to ring the bell to signal the end of her chemo infusions!!
And, more mundanely, thankful that our lake effect snow warning (upgraded from a winter storm watch) is for tomorrow and not today. I can get NDN1 to and from Thanksgiving dinner at CF's in safety--and I wasn't planning on doing any Black Friday shopping anyway!
@A. Marie, Thank you for sharing the aide's wisdom. It does help with perspective. Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.
Yes! I thought of your DH, actually. 🙂
@A. Marie, you have such a great way of expressing things. even if you are borrowing someone else's phrase. thank you so much.
@A. Marie,
I was thankful that I didn't have to go anywhere Friday to Sunday. We here in Clay, NY got at least a foot of snow and I was glad it wasn't Thursday as I had to work.
Counting down! Hang in there-
My auntie has repeating periods of confusion whenever she has a bladder infection, which is often nowadays. She is improving when her nutritients get back to normal. During her confused periods she is very anxious and depressed unfortunately. I never knew about the relation between bladder infections and extreme confusion before -
This week I am thankful
- for the first snow we had (be it briefly)
- for the beauty of winter evenings with the bare trees against the deep blue
- for friendship
- for cooking appliances that make it easier to make healthy meals on busy days
- for how our sweet cat trusts us and even for how the covid years taught us more about her constant need for company
- that we have the health and energy to cook our own meals, clean our own house, do our own groceries and do a lot of chores that otherwise we would need to hire help for. The day will come when we need help for all those things and I hope I will remember with joy and not sadness that I cooked our meals and pottered around in the house a lot.
@JNL, You’ve reminded me of other things I am thankful for! Especially the beauty of winter evenings. It’s good to know other people are out there noticing that!
@JNL, I learned to diagnosis my grandmother's bladder infections over the phone because of the confusion. I lived on the east coast, and she lived on the west coast in a nursing home. When I called and she was confused, I would call the nurses back after our conversation was over and alert them. She always had a bladder infection.
@Jody S. and @JNL, yep, UTIs are the first thing to ask about when a person with dementia experiences a sudden worsening in confusion. This was something I had to learn from the folks at alzconnected.org and from personal experience.
Oh yes, yes, we always do a urine sample when an elderly patient develops confusion!
@JNL,
A work friend's mom has started having urinary tract infections....the first time, she had fallen in her assisted living apartment, and was very confused (both from the UTI and dehydration). She has since had 2 or 3 more UTIs, but my friend is much more "on guard" for the signs and symptoms in her mom. Apparently, her mom was referred to a urologist (mom is, I think, in her high 80s).
@Liz B.,
Forgot to add, on a different note - I'm also thankful for our beautiful winter sunrises and sunsets!
I'm thankful for:
*my family. There can be hard times, but most of them are wonderful and supportive.
*my job. I'm in my 30th year at the same place- never expected that when I was first hired. The part-time schedule lets me take care of my family. But I also get out of the house and talk about math!
*a warm house on a very cold and windy day.
* a cat who loves to sleep on me when it's cold.
* indoor plumbing and hot showers.
Have a blessed Thursday everyone!
I’m thankful:
—That my mother has fully recovered from her event last week.
—That a month ago I followed the advice of AARP and froze my credit files, so that when someone tried to open a credit line with my information, they were unsuccessful and I was notified.
—That my partner and I are able to host family for Thanksgiving dinner today.
—For my beautiful, entertaining, and sometimes cuddly cat (who just pulled the freshly laundered tablecloth onto the floor!).
—For mornings, my favorite time of day, and good coffee in my old chair, watching the sky change.
@JaeFi,
I hope there wasn't any food or dishes on the tablecloth, and that nothing got broken. Naughty kitty!
It's hard to be mad at such a cute criminal. 😉
@JaeFi, When I was 4 I adopted a cat much to Mom's dismay. She preferred a no animal policy. That Thanksgiving Boots pulled the table cloth off the table, including the fresh out of the oven turkey. Then at Christmas he climbed the tree causing it to crash and break all the glass ornanents. Shortly after that Mom developed a really bad case of hives and Boots had to be rehomed.
I am grateful for your beautiful outdoors photos. I am lucky enough to live in a very green part of England, but I still enjoy your photos, both the large scale ones and the tiny moss close-ups.
@Heather, I’m a big fan of moss and love Kristen’s moss close-ups too.
Kristen, when you are on night shifts, do you have trouble sleeping in the daytime? Or are you so tired it doesn’t matter what time it is? Just curious.
Thankful for:
Our crazy (and loving) family and having all our kids/grands (except one who is in UK for school) around for Thanksgiving this year. This is the first time in many years, although we’ll get together Saturday instead of today.
Traveling with my brother and sister-in-law last week to Amish country and Sight & Sound in PA. We had wonderful time together.
Our warm little house and kind and helpful neighbors who look out for each other.
For the Kristens of the world who give us kind and compassionate care on some of our worst days.
I don’t take any of these blessings lightly, as I know many cannot say the same. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
@Addy, My husband's cousin used to work for Sight & Sound and we got to go to a show once. I would love to go again sometime and take my kids! It's quite an amazing thing! We've also watched a couple of the recorded shows, which I am thankful that they have produced and given access to them. I'm glad you had a good time!
@Ruth T, yes, their shows are truly amazing with the elaborate sets. The live animals for this show (Noah) were especially fun.
@Addy, I had the privilege of seeing the Noah movie this fall. It was wonderful. How much more so it must be live! Glad you were blessed with the experience.
YES. I have never managed to sleep anything close to eight hours during the day. My best effort was six hours and I was very happy with that.
Normally it's more like 4.5.
This week I am thankful:
*that my Minnesota boys are with each other for Thanksgiving since it's too far for them to come home for Thanksgiving. They have also been invited to a Thanksgiving meal at the home of a family from their church.
*that I didn't need to stay up late cooking last night. Somehow I managed to get the day-before things done before church. Normally I like staying up late cooking, but I was tired yesterday.
*for the opportunities my children do have. We miss out on a lot of activities and such because we homeschool, but my kids are thriving. That makes me happy.
*for the opportunity I have this weekend to see my friend.
*that I can (and do) laugh at myself. It makes life amusing.
*that the big wind last night didn't knock out our electricity. I always appreciate electricity, but I appreciate it more when there's a turkey to cook. (I do, however, hear the wind howling a bit outside even now.)
*that Kristen's patient had a caring nurse. It's so sad to think that a struggling person who needs help is often met with frustration and anger instead of kindness.
*mostly for the blessings God has given to me. There are so, so many. I am especially enjoying reading through the Psalms, one each week daily. Rereading them this way makes me think about them in a way I haven't before. I am grateful for my church family and for a faithful pastor.
First off, I am thankful for your blog, Kristen, and this space you've created! Thanks for letting us cheer you on your journey, and for inspiring others.
Around here I'm thankful:
That we got all our shopping for Thanksgiving done before yesterday. And have no plans to step foot in a store until maybe Sunday.
That DS#2 and I got through our condensed nurse aide training course with flying colors*--all that remains is our two clinical days in the residential facility next week, but we're both excited to be working with real people and not manikins!
*DS#2 scored a bit higher than me on overall points! He couldn't believe it. And he was one of the few in the class to be told "excellent job" when he demonstrated skills for the instructor to evaluate. Very proud of him. He is taking this class seriously because he wants to get certified so he can get a job before he starts nursing school.
That I have ONE week of school left--two clinical days, an exam review class, and a final exam in A&P and then I am DONE for the semester.
For the friends I made during these last two semesters of my in-person classes. I'll have online classes the next two semesters while I wait to be invited into a cohort, but I'm hoping to keep in contact with these lovely ladies.
That everyone is healthy and enjoying what they're doing in school or work.
Congrats to BOTH of you for doing so well!
We just returned last night from our trip to New Orleans, so I most thankful for safe travel and being home. But also . . .
--That we went on this trip at all. It was my idea and I planned it all because I wanted to bring my children to where my mother is from and where I have so many good memories. I do not ever instigate trips because I don't like to travel much, but I'm so glad I did this.
--For the money to pay for it, and enough that I didn't need to carefully budget for every single thing.
--The biggest problem I had was when I discovered on Tuesday that I had put the wrong check-out date on my Airbnb reservation. !!!! The host texted me let me know the cleaning crew was there and all our stuff still was too. It was definitely my fault and I was so upset. VERY THANKFULLY, the host was great about it, the cleaning person gathered all our things for us and stored them in the garage until we could get there, and I made another Airbnb reservation for the one night in a different neighborhood that actually made for a really fun last day and night there, and all my family agreed they were glad I made the mistake. And I had not made a similar mistake with our rental car or return flights, which would have been waaay worse.
--The other slightly less big but still stressful issue was when we got to the airport to go home, I didn't have my purse. !!! I knew I had had it in our rental car, though, and I realized I didn't have it just as we got off the escalator from dropping off the car. So I went right back up and looked all around the car that was still sitting there waiting to be checked. Not there. A little bit panicked, I went back to my family, checked bags even though I KNEW I had not put it in one of them, and then went back to check the car again. Which is when I realized that our car was parked right behind another car of the EXACT same model, and I had been looking in the wrong car. So I did find my purse and I only had about five really bad minutes. Plus the five more minutes it took for my heart rate to reduce.
--That there were no travel delays of any kind and actually the airports and planes yesterday weren't really busy. I was very surprised by that. I thought for sure we'd be waiting a long time at security or to return our rental, but nope. We sailed right through. (And then sat for two hours at the gate, but that's okay. It gave us time for some more beignets from the airport Cafe du Monde. 🙂 )
I could go on and on, but mostly I am just thankful now to be home. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
@kristin @ going country,
I am glad you and your family had a wonderful time. It can be a challenge when traveling as a group and hurray for no delays.
DH travelled for years for work. When we travel together for fun, he often will ask:
• "Where is your backpack?"
• "Did you download your boarding pass?"
• "Did you put your ID back in your wallet?"
• "Do you have everything?"
I try not to get annoyed, but I must admit he has prevented a catastrophe or two. So happy that you found your purse right away.
@Bee, Yeah, I'm the one asking those questions usually. 🙂 With six people, there are just so many things to keep track of. My husband is typically the one planning and directing our trips while I take care of the details like keeping track of everyone and their stuff, but I kind of did it all this time--although he did ALLL the driving and navigating, which was no small task--and it was a lot. We had a lot of fun, but it was very stressful and I am so grateful to be back at home and able to relax a bit.
Ohhh, I'm so glad your trip went (fairly) smoothly. Yay!!!!
@kristin @ going country, mistakes suck but glad yours turned out ok. for our trip to the white house i got the date wrong by one day but we were let in anyway after a wait for confirmation of our documents. and then i got the specialized high school test date wrong that my son was taking. thought it was on saturday but it was sunday. last weekend we had to get up 6am on sat and sun. i hope i don't mess up like that anymore.
It’s really nice you have your schedule six months out! The jobs I’ve done outside education give much less notice which is tough.
My Thankfuls: snow addition
-for the snow we got that makes everything look so beautiful outside and deadens thr noise of traffic
-for the day off school it caused (there was a lot of snow. And despite it being wet, the winds causes a lot of drifting). A much needed break, even after a two day week.
-for the guy who cleans my driveway up so I don’t have to worry about it before work (or in yesterdays case before a home day). I snowblowed the end of my driveway after the plow came through, and even that took 45 minutes. I can’t imagine how long it would have taken for the whole driveway.
-for good snow gear so we could play in the snow and stay safe.
Haha nooo it’s six WEEKS.
@Kristen, oh man...I totally misread that!
Hehe, I went back to reread my post because it seemed completely plausible that I had accidentally typed "months" instead of "weeks". But I did actually type weeks this time. 😉
Happy Thanksgiving!
• I am thankful for Kristen and this commentariat. Although we don't know each other IRL, we share our lives, our thoughts, our successes, and our difficulties with each other. In this crazy world, this is appreciated.
• Today marks the beginning of 10 days of absolute chaos. I am definitely overcommitted. I am thankful that DH sat down with me and asked for a list of things that he could help with. He is slowly checking things off his list. I feel blessed. He even braved the grocery store yesterday when I realized I had forgotten to buy sour cream.
• Like Jody, I am thankful that two of my children live within two hours of each other in North Carolina. They will be together today. My middle son has had a bit of a setback this week. He doesn't handle these well. My daughter understands this and I know she will be there for them.
• I am thankful for Calico Kitty and Rescue Pup. Calico Kitty will be 18 in just a few months. She is a bit difficult and demanding in her old age as I am sure that I will be. Rescue Pup has brought such joy to our lives. There is nothing like a 100-pound lap dog who is devoted to her family.
• I am thankful that soon my son, wife, grandchildren, and others will be gathered around my table. I couldn't love them more.
Wishing you the blessings of this special day. May peace be with you.
@Bee, I'm glad you have your second one. It is so good to have somebody always have your back (especially when you know the tight spot you're in is your own fault).
@Bee,
Sometimes I overlook the most obvious things.
I, too, am thankful for this Commentariat. It is like a community of good friends, and I look forward to reading it every day. It keeps me from feeling too isolated, esp. on the days where I don't have a work shift scheduled.
Thanks for reminding us, Bee! And thanks to Kristen and all who participate!
It's a snippet of the best kind of thing the internet has to offer, isn't it?
There are plenty of downsides of the internet, but what a gift that we can all gather here!
@Fru-gal Lisa and Kristen, This blog is absolutely among the best the Internet has to offer. And, it’s waaay more than a snippet!
Ah, memories! Years ago I worked night shift in a nursing home. One night as we sat in the darkened sun room on the first floor looking out the window, we heard a loud ruckus upstairs. Suddenly, something large flew by the window and and the noise temporarily stopped. We couldn't see what had fallen (there were bushes outside the window. We were locked in and ran to find our charge nurse at the other end of the hall. By the time she got to the front door to unlock it, the staff from the second floor were running down the stairs in a panic. One of their patients, who was restrained for his own safety, got out of his restraints and, yep, jumped out the window! He wound up with two broken ankles but was otherwise ok. After that, the upstairs windows were secured and alarmed and the patient was heavily medicated because they didn't know any other way to keep him safe. In retrospect, I think he probably needed to be in a locked mental facility, but the state had recently closed a nearby mental facility and deemed that all the elderly patients could be suitably housed in a regular nursing home. I loved night shift at the time and there were other stressful nights, but this was the most memorable one.
Oh my goodness! The window! Amazing.
Luckily, our windows do not open. If they did, I think my Houdini patient would have gotten out!
@Kristen,
I'm not a nurse, but it always amazes me how some patients can find ways out of their restraints!
Also, do you get some night shifts because you're a new nurse? Or does everyone take a turn? Just curious. (I have no idea how the nurses do it where I work, to be honest. I know some RNs are strictly day shift or night shift).
I am one of those people who gets grossed out! I kind of enjoy the cosy time of year but I'm also happy the days will get longer soon!
I don't celebrate Thanksgiving in England or Denmark so always forget it exists:P Here are my thankfuls:
1. Work has got better lately.
2. I am seeing a friend I used to work with tomorrow.
3. I finally got around to getting a haircut a couple of weeks ago and it looks good!
4. My mother's birthday card arrived on time.
5. I'm more confident in the kitchen than I used to be. Yesterday I baked a loaf of bread and made granola bars.
@Sophie in Denmark,
You certainly seem to be on a cooking stride!
@Sophie in Denmark, A good haircut feels great! I tend to be an every-six-months kind of haircut gal, so if it's good it's nice to know I'll have decent styling for the next half-year.
@JNL, Thanks! I think so too!
@FJB, I'm very much the same way - I grow it out and then cut it once or twice a year. I don't mind paying for haircuts because the place I go to does a great job and I like supporting them!
It's wonderful that you try to understand what your patients are going through, even when their behavior is difficult. They are so lucky to have you as their nurse.
I'm thankful for my new home. It has been a hard year, what with moving for the first time in nearly thirty years, adjusting to a new place, and dealing with the repairs that were needed. But it's a lovely place to live and I am much happier here.
I'm thankful that we finally have some beautiful fall weather in time for Thanksgiving. Summer seemed to last a very long time this year, but the weather eventually did get cooler, and the leaves changed to beautiful reds and yellows.
I'm thankful for reasonably good health - my own, my family's, and my cat's.
I'm also thankful for your consistent blog posts and reminders to be both frugal and thankful, and for this lovely community you have brought together.
Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating it!
This week I am thankful for:
1. The birthday of my now 7-year-old granddaughter. She’s the one I once described as Disney princess looks, Mohammed Ali personality. That hasn’t changed. She’s the youngest girl in her family but a devoted big sister to her 18-months younger brother. Don’t mess with her boy.
2. It wasn’t much, but I am thankful for the short rain yesterday. We need it, badly.
3. For a day with my family today.
4. The crisp air and sun after a muggy, warm, foggy week.
5. A good visit with my new dentist yesterday.
Whew, you can certainly be thankful THAT night shift is over and only 2 more weeks till the class is done too.. you’ll be skating into the holidays with less stress!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! LOVE that water trail!!
My Mom was a difficult patient in her elder years and I am forever grateful for her Primary Care Physician and some of the nurses who treated and cared for her with respect. Your patients are blessed to have you!
Happy Thanksgiving and Thankful Thursday to everyone!
2025 has been and continues to be the year of building community. With that perspective, here are my FTs:
1 Kristen, thank you for TFG and working so long and hard to nurture it and keep it growing inspite of growing new personal and professional lives at the same time! 16 years in. As a newcomer, I can say it is: a blessing, a safe place to land, a public school of the best kind, an instrument of unification, and a joy.
To the Commentariat: Thank you for your welcoming warmth, wisdom, generosity, and humor. This is a community that is like a light on a hill. I hope to have many years here.
2 The retirement park community. Have been sloth-like in participating, but now can see why the Lord has planted me here. This may be my best garden yet. So very grateful.
3 The Casa Grande Lunch Ladies group and our monthly lunches, linners, excursions...just the pleasure of a good time in your company. Actually building community in my community! After moving just shy of forty times, roots feel REALLY GOOD y'all!
4 The biggest and best: my church family. Only 6 months in, but I do not have the words to express the joy that fills every day with adventure, new insights, connections with others, peace, and contentment. The Bible studies, my 2 small groups, participating in community outreach and support, and supporting missionary work here and abroad. So life enriching.
5 The very sloth-like rebuilding of family. It will never be Norman Rockwell, but I have hope that it will be. Progress not perfection, right?
Again Kristen, thank you for a safe place to express our gratitude. <3
@AZ Lynn, I'm so happy to hear about you building community after so many moves! It's easy to hole up after so much change and so many goodbyes. Creating a village is important and healthy! Congratulations on the effort and progress this year 🙂
@FJB, Thank you so much.
Your kind words are appreciated.
I think many people don't understand how traumatizing it can be for kids. On average, children lose 6 months every time they move schools.
You are a wonderful nurse, Kristen!
Thankful to have both kids home, and a quiet Thanksgiving day with just the 4 of us. I'm pretty sure I might have a daughter-in-law by this time next year--she's wonderful, and I'm happy about adding her to our family, but right now I'm enjoying the familiar dynamics of the four of us together.
Thankful for my husband, who was able to fix a difficult household repair.
For a warm and cozy house during blustery and snowy weather.
For my friends, who laugh at my jokes and put up with me.
For tea. 🙂
I so wish I wasn’t grossed out by things. I have terrible emetophobia and would love to not deal with that anymore!
I’m thankful not to have an issue with needles, though. I went through months of 6 shots a week (3 twice a week) for my allergies and am now down to 3 shots every other week. I’m so happy they have worked and I feel so much better. An unintended lesson after multiple anaphylactic reactions is that epinephrine is not scary. I had always been afraid to use it.
I’m thankful we made it to my dad’s house safely. When we were driving on the highway, winds were intense! I’m glad we’ll be able to be together for Thanksgiving. It’s supposed to snow the day we go home, but luckily we can just stay an extra day at my dad’s house if needed.
So far … I’m thankful our pup is not eating any of my dad’s stuff. Our 1yo dog still sometimes gets into things and this house is definitely not puppy proofed. I’m glad he’s been being a good boy.
I’m grateful my sister is out of an abusive relationship. We are not close, so I wasn’t aware what was going on, but am very relieved she is away from him and that they sold their house so she won’t be tied to him financially. Also thankful, she was able to get good legal counsel so he’s actually getting some sort of penalty for his actions.
Those all sound grimmer than I meant to be, but I have gratitude that despite life’s challenges, there’s still a lot of good. I’m thankful for a loving, healthy family, time spent together, and the means to have everything we need plus some of what we want.
Ohhh, I am SO happy for your sister getting free. Good for her.
@Kristen, Me too. They were engaged for a few years, and thankfully hadn’t married or had kids together, so he can’t use those things to manipulate her.
So very thankful for:
1. Interesting and varied work coming at just the right pace
2. Strong sense of community among neighbors/friends/church, all helping one another
3. Husband’s surgery in the rearview mirror
4. Library books
5. Pumpkin scones this morning (had to take 1/2 the batch to a neighbor so I wouldn’t eat them all!)
6. The genuine friendships made through this blog
Happy Thanksgiving from the PNW!
Thankful for this awesome community. Thank you Kristen!
I went to bed early for me (11) and woke up to a houseful of 8 college kids making breakfast, doing barn chores, collecting wood, baking off the cinnamon rolls, setting up all the tables. I feel loved. We will have about 30 for dinner, more will come for dessert.
The men made the meats this year. Fried, smoked, ham, elk roast and bbq oysters.
I will work my last Thanksgiving weekend starting on Friday. I work in Trauma ICU, but worked for years in E.R. and have many tales of dementia patients climbing the walls.
My black Friday shoppers will go to the farm store and pick up my sale boots.
The sun just came out, the girls and I will go collect greens, rose hips, berries and apples on bamboo skewers for table decorations. Go to the garden to pick lettuce, spinach and broccoli for dinner.
1. Snuggles woke me up this morning with a puppy-dog kiss. (Actually, it was almost noon, I'd slept in.)
2. I got the new curtains and my new "window treatment" (thin quilted bedspread hung by window clips) up. I love how the floral print picks up the hard-to-match paint color on m y walls. It has a little bit of pink on the magnolia petals that matches exactly. I also love the Prussian blue background color -- vey restful and calming. And did I say I also have a 2nd matching bedspread on the king-sized bed? The one on the bed is a Calif. King sized spread, which covers the thick mattress lots better. Also the sides reach down the side of the mattress, and that gives me a lot more warmth from body heat. But, anyway, the bedroom reset is exactly what was needed.
3. Thankful that I no longer grieve that I don't have a family around me this holiday. And that I can stay alone and not be sad. (I used to accept invitations to others' Thanksgivings, but despite their well-intentions and good efforts, I always felt like I didn't belong. And that was even worse than being alone.)
4. Thankful we got through the store shift last night OK. All the young ones, pouting that they were scheduled the night before the holiday, called in "sick." (Yeah, right.) Therefore, we had a skeleton crew and lots of customers. I am thankful most were very sweet and understanding about the longer than usual lines. Only one shopper, the loudmouthed drunk lady (who, sadly, is a regular customer), complained. But she *always* complains at the top of her lungs, so that was par for the course.
5. One of my fellow parishioners sent me an email wanting to know if everything was OK and could she pray for me. (I skipped services the past 2 weeks due to a bad headache one Sunday, and then the next week, a heavy rainstorm <-- shame on me.)
@Fru-gal Lisa, No shame! God is full of grace and loves you. It was so nice to have someone notice your absence and check on you.
Happy Thanksgiving All! May you all be continually blessed. 🙂
Thankful for our house & furnace that is keeping us warm as Winter wonderland is here to stay in Michigan. Snow still coming down & will continue through weekend. And preparing for our first Artic blast from Canada with temps in single digits & teens for highs next week.
Thankful for rescue dogs who don't complain about putting on their fleece lined coats to go outside.
Thankful teen is officially done with classes until January semester.
Thankful for the food cooking in the kitchen that I've been working on all day for our Thanksgiving dinner. And for leftovers for the next few days.
Thankful for Kristen and her blog where we can learn & share with each other.
Be safe Annemarie as this weather is coming towards you.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your gratitude lists. It is so inspiring to see the work everyone is doing to cultivate good lives.
I am also grateful for:
- The opportunity to live in a different country for an extended period of time. I don't think I could or would retire here, but I've learned so much that I hope to carry back to my home country next year.
- The urge to return to the United States, and people there that I'm so grateful to share a country with (I know some of my friends want to move away, but I really hope they will stay and continue to share their beautiful personalities and lifestyles with the rest of us).
- My bicycle, and all of the "friends on bikes" (ie, anyone I see riding their bike) out there enjoying the magic of travel powered by their own body.
- The curry place we ate at yesterday/Thanksgiving day here (which, with exchange and commissary rates was about as much as I would have paid making a traditional meal), and the lack of expectation to spend the day making a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Someday I'm sure we will happily get back to those traditions (I do love Thanksgiving food), but in this season of our lives some relief from household chores is welcome.
- Frugally-minded friends. When I meet people who are okay with the idea of a walk around the park instead of an expensive cafe meal or an at-home chess/tea session instead of trivia night at the bar, I know I've found someone like-minded. Yesterday we spent some time with a couple like that. The conversation was delightful.
I am thankful for my new cat even though he is very high energy and jumps onto or into everything.
I am thankful for slowly getting my house clean and decluttered.
I am thankful for starting a GLP1 medication because I'm slowly losing weight, I have more energy, and have become much more aware of what I am putting in my body.
I so thankful for cooler weather even though I am not looking forward to snow, I just don't do well in the heat.
I am thankful for my job, it pays well I have great benefits and I like most of my coworkers.
@Kristen - I have to disagree on your definition of cold. Until you've had temps pushing -30 and windchill close t0 -60, it is not cold. AND you had to be outside to feed cattle, who weren't really interested in eating.You didn't have an inside lock frost over. Nor spend the day in bend with an electric blanket watching an NFL playoff game. Nor leave work and your car seat not move - thanking yourself you had an almost full tank of gas in your car with an V-8 motor (nothing better than your car seat *not* moving when you get in). I'm sure the temp/windchill has been worse in AK/the "plains" as I am in the midwest. But the aforementioned temps are my gauge for "cold". A number of days of cool, brisk, or invigorating before it actually gets coold
Dementia/Alzheimer's sucks - if I could have figured out how to end the indignity and pain for my mother *without* going to jail, I would have. It is *not* a badge of honor keeping the victim of dementia or Alzheimer's alive.
Along with everyone here, I'm thankful for your blog. For the kind comments I learn from, the frugal ideas that are new to me, the many "we're in this together" thoughts that make me feel a part of this even though I'm a relative newcomer the past few months.
Thank you all!
I'm thankful for nurses like you. My mum had dementia, and I know there were times when she was a real challenge. We were so grateful for compassionate nurses.
""I am amazed at the giftedness of people who work in dementia-specific wards. Every one of their patients is confused! ""
That's me! I work on a dementia/behavioral locked unit and I really enjoy this population. But it is NOT for everyone, and I have colleagues that should just move on to other floors in my opinion.
you and your blog. that hubby took over college applications and fafsa application. that all that is dunzo. that our girl is on track to graduate high school in june. she wants to go to an art school. but we worry she won't find an art job when she graduates. here's hoping for the best.
I'm thankful for the FG community!
For a great Thanksgiving Day.
Family.
Good sleep.
Days off!
I'm thankful for/that ...
• We get to celebrate this Thanksgiving with my husband home instead of at work.
• Holiday traditions with my family like eating cinnamon rolls, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, reading Berenstain Bears books about Thanksgiving and going through our thankful tree/blessings jar.
• My mother and sister in law are safe and was not harm during their house fire. They caught it early and the only damage was to their guest room. There's still electrical damage that'll need to be fixed before they can return home,
• We have an extra room for my mother and sister in law to stay with us as long as they need until their house is fixed.
• The chance to catch up with my mom. sister and brother through video chat.