Thankful Thursday | relational technology
I know the internet, social media, and smartphones in general get a (somewhat deserved) bad rap. I mean, I definitely can see the downsides, particularly when it comes to social media.
(There are lots of reasons I keep Instagram off of my phone almost all the time!)
But my list this week contains several instances where smartphones + internet have made it easier to connect with family. Like all things, the internet and smart phones are a mixture of upsides and downsides, and this week, I am just feeling really appreciative of the upsides!
This week, I am thankful:
for Facetime
Lisey Facetimed me the other night, and then my South Dakota aunt Facetimed me at the same time, so we all hopped on a call together, which was fun.
I love the way technology makes it easier to stay connected to people who live far apart...there we were, me at home, Lisey at my Uncle Ron and Aunt Kathy's house, and my other aunt in South Dakota, all getting to chat together.
for Game Pigeon
Game Pigeon is a game app within iMessage and the other night, Sonia, Zoe, Lisey, and I were all playing Uno together via the app, and it was almost like Lisey was here with us. 🙂
Also, Lisey and I have been playing Game Pigeon's Four in a Row (their version of Connect Four), which is fun because Lisey is really good at this game, and I'm pretty good at it too.
So we make worthy opponents for each other!
Lisey and I also like to play Anagrams together and she is always beating me at that one.
that Lisey lives close enough to come home for Christmas
If her school was in, say, California, this would be much more challenging. But she's just a couple of hours away by car, so she will be able to be home for a little while over Christmas break.
that my Uncle Ron and Aunt Kathy are coming for Christmas
They're going to drive here to share Christmas dinner with us, and I'm delighted about that.
for relationships with my aunts and uncles
I have a lot of aunts and uncles (my dad has three siblings and my mom has four) and I am thankful that I get to chat with some of them regularly. And that is made possible mainly because of smartphones!
for six weeks between semesters
There are exactly six weeks between the day of my A&P 1 final and the first day of A&P 2. Six weeks is a lot! That's, like, half of a summer break.
So, I plan to appreciate it as such.
that I got signed up with a great professor for next semester
My current professor was able to tell me who is teaching which sections next semester; I was looking for one particular professor, and now I am signed up for his section. Yay!
I hear A&P 2 is even harder than A&P 1, so I am delighted to be in a class with a highly-rated professor. Whew.
A lot of class success is due to personal effort, of course, but I still think a great professor can make an enormous difference.
Oh, I agree with the internet staying in contact with loved ones scattered all over the country and/or continent(s) is so veryeasy. That is something I am very thankful about as well.
Two weeks ago I lost my wallet and it found its way back to me overnight - yesterday I lost my debit card - the bank just called me that a honest person found it and brought it to their nearest branch. I will pick it up tomorrow. So thankful for this!
I do not celebrate Christmas but I do enjoy all the baked goods and the food in general connected to that holiday. One of my nephews as a child and teenager would always come to our house several times in December and help prepare all the different cookies. As ge grew older that stopped naturally. Last week I messaged him wether he was up to baking and he said yes! So he came over on Monday and we had great fun together and baked quite a variety of traditional Christmas cookies. And then he asked if we could meet again to continue to do even more! So next Monday he will come again - and he asked my son whether he wanted to join us and he said yes! So I am very grateful that nephew and son enjoy that time baking with me!
I am very grateful that my booster last week went very well. Except for a sore arm I felt just great!
My technology thankful things include FaceTime too. I love that I can talk to my children so easily. Best of all I love talking to my eldest granddaughter. She is four and can all by herself and loves to share her important things. The very funny side is watching her on the phone because she treats every call like it is FaceTime. Her waves and I love you signs crack me right up. This technology was pretty new when of my children went to school is Switzerland. I was very thankful then. I also love the ease of obtaining things via the internet. Sometimes it can be all too easy.
I am so glad for my domestic servants. Having a refrigerator, hot water, indoor plumbing, a washing machine and dryer and a vacuum cleaner make life so simple. We used to holiday in my aunt's home and it didn't have electricity until I was a bit older. How well I remember the exhaustion of sweeping our sand and washing sheets in an old tub. Such chores are pretty easy now. I still hang our clothing to dry as it is a hot and dry where we live.
There are so many positive applications of technology. Our ability to easily stay in touch is definitely one. I’m sure there are other readers who may remember waiting to make a long-distance call to their parents until the rates were low or reversing the charges from a college pay phone.
This was another odd week in our household. I had a freak accident when moving a piece of furniture. This resulted in an ambulance ride, a trip to the emergency room, and having staples put in my head. So what am I thankful for…so much.
I am thankful that I did not sustain a concussion.
I am thankful that I had someone with me when the accident happened.
I am grateful to the paramedics that were kind and helpful. First responders are special people.
I am thankful that most people actually yield to emergency vehicles.
I am grateful that my eldest son was able to leave work to come hold my hand while I was in the ER. He is such a blessing.
I am thankful that my son and his dear friend stepped in and finished the project that I was working on when I was injured. I was on a timeline. This was a lesson in letting go of my need for perfection and allowing someone else to help. I am a work in progress.
I am grateful for extra strength Motrin. It hurts.
I am thankful for good friends who are there when you need them.
I’m grateful that my DH will finally be done with the project he has been working on in another state, and he will be home tomorrow and stay for the next several weeks.
I’m thankful for the kitty on my lap, the beautiful sunrise, and this brand new day which I hope will be totally uneventful. We have had too much excitement in this house as of late.
Wishing everyone love, peace and good health.
@Bee, Yikes. I'm glad it wasn't worse, and especially glad your husband will be home to help you.
P.S. When I was in college, my dad got me a calling card because it was the cheapest way to call them long-distance. So every time I called them, I had to enter the 1-800 number of the card, then a really long PIN (something like 10 numbers), and THEN their phone number. My children will never know this irritation. 🙂
Oh man, yes, I remember having to count how long you'd been on the phone and weigh how much it was going to cost!
Oh Bee, I'm so glad that you are ok, but I'm sorry that you got hurt. I hope you are 100% soon!
@Bee,
It seems you had a tough week! I am gladly for you that you did get things sorted out and all the help you needed.
When I was 16 a school friend and I went all by ourselves to the island of Sylt which is up in the North of Germany. We spent our Easter vacation there. Back then in the 70ies this involved a train journey of about 9 hours total with changing train in Hamburg. We were supposed to arrive in Sylt in the early evening - with the first train being late we missed the second and arrived around midnight at the place where we had rented a room without a phone. So we couldn't call our parents to tell that we had arrived all safe and sound until the next morning. Sure enough my friend's mother got all worked up and called my mother if she knew anything....my mother always lived by the parole (and so do I) no news is good news and calmed the other lady by telling her that there was no train accident reported on the news and surely we would be OK. My mother never expected me to call when I was travelling - she relied on the fact that I always carried my ID card with all the details and that she would be traced down and contacted if something went wrong. This saved her lots of headaches and worry.
With a mobile phone of course my friend would have called her mother much earlier.
@Bee,
Oh, my goodness, I'm glad it wasn't a concussion, but I know that hurt! I hope you heal fast.
@Bee, yikes, so sorry to hear about the head injury! Glad that so many folks were there to help, and wishing you a speedy recovery.
@Bee, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Wishing you a quick recovery. Perfection is a beast. I "joke" that I'm a recovering perfectionist and that it's not going as perfectly as I'd like it to.
@Bee, Thank you for the kind words. I am healing nicely. Life is strange sometimes.
I am thankful for Covid vaccines. It's been a year since they started administering them and we are in a much better place than we were a year ago. I'll be even more thankful when they approve vaccines for those under age 5.
I'm thankful for warm and sunny days. I know it could be a sign of climate change but boy do they boost my mood. I bagged yard waste yesterday. It's pleasant walking in the evening.
I'm thankful for holiday decorations. They make it refreshing to be out and they make it easier to see in the dark.
I'm thankful for a warm house and bed on a cold morning. I'm thankful I didn't wake up early this morning. I'm having a difficult time adjusting to the end of DST. I awoke to a crazy funny dream and I don't often remember dreams.
I'm thankful for technology as well. I love that you can share information so easily. Just the other day I shared with several people a Washington Post article on local employee owned businesses. Back in the day you would have needed to physically send an article. I love how texting helps you arrange to see people without taking much time or effort. I love staying in touch with family that live across the country.
@K D, re: your gratitude for the current warm spell, we're having one too.
And in honor of Jane Austen's birthday (see my main post below), JA was on our side. She wrote in December 1815: "I am sorry my mother has been suffering, and am afraid this exquisite weather is too good to agree with her. I enjoy it all over me, from top to toe, from right to left, longitudinally, perpendicularly, diagonally; and I cannot but selfishly hope we are to have it last till Christmas--nice, unwholesome, unseasonable, relaxing, close, muggy weather."
I was just thinking randomly this morning that I'm thankful I don't need glasses and never have. I'm sure I will sometime in my life, but I made it into my forties without needing them, which is great.
Which led me to being grateful that none of my children have needed them so far. Three ricocheting boys wearing breakable glasses on their faces? Yikes.
Sooo thankful this is the last week of school before the break. I was really happy my children got to have in-person school for these past couple of weeks, but it's always just a lot right before the holiday break. And I've been working a couple of extra days, too, which adds to the piling-up of things.
Thankful for good coffee (with cream!). Busy weeks like this always mean I don't get enough sleep. I tend to wake up at, say, 2:30 a.m. because the dogs are barking at the escaped horses (to use a not-at-all-hypothetical example) and then I can't fall back asleep because my brain kicks into overdrive thinking about all the things I have to do that day. Which I will now be exhausted during because I just HAD to think about it instead of sleeping. So helpful. Sigh. So yay coffee!
Good sight is such a blessing! I've had vision correction since I was 6 years old, but most of our kids got Mr. FG's good eyes. Only Sonia has needed glasses so far.
@Kristen, I had glasses at two and a half. But cataract surgery 10 years ago made that unnecessary. I am still grateful to my eye doctor for that success.
Oh wow, that must be amazing to see well now!
@Anita Isaac, cataract surgery fixed the extreme nearsightedness I'd had all my life. It's still a fresh wonder to me that I can open my eyes and read the time on the alarm clock on the dresser without glasses. I have to wear glasses for the far-sightedness of middle age, but it's a snap compared to what I used to have.
I cannot even imagine what that would be like. I can see clearly only about 3 inches from my eyes (that is, without contacts or glasses).
@Ruby, I took a drug since childhood that caused cataracts in my 30s. I was nearly legally blind and even with Coke-bottle glasses, things were often a blur. The first thing I did when I woke up was reach for my glasses...anyway, the doctor gave me one far and one nearsighted lens. I do not have to wear glasses for near or far! That surgery was nearly 30 years ago and I still get a little blast of gratitude for needing the surgery and having such a competent surgeon. I wish my husband would get cataract so he could quit getting frustrated about having tri-focals and problems working on the computer sometimes.
@Lindsey, I have to wear trifocals too and spend 8-12 hours on the computer on work days. I finally asked the eye doctor for a prescription for “computer” glasses - glasses that only had near & mid distance correction. While having 2 different pairs of glasses is sometimes tricky, it has made a world of difference to my days (and my headaches!)
I’m thankful for my sisters(and the technology that connects us!) We’ve had a group text for years now and we talk everyday through there. It’s just so nice having them and knowing I can talk to them anytime. Also thankful we will all be together at Christmas this year (my youngest sister lives out of state and did not come home last year due to Covid, our first Christmas ever that we weren’t all together!)
I’m thankful for all the Christmas food and treats around right now! Not good health wise but I’m really enjoying the abundance of good things to eat.
Pretty sure I’ve already said it this season, but really grateful for Christmas lights. I love sitting and drinking my morning coffee with just Christmas lights turned on, its so beautiful and calming. I love the outdoor lights too, I took my son to a house where the lights were programmed to music and it was really enjoyable to watch.
Thankful my daughter hit all the early action college app deadlines. News is starting to roll in, so far all good!
Thankful my son was able to get checked at the ER yesterday after he wasn’t feeling well post-booster and that he’s ok.
Thankful to have started getting plans in order for holiday meals, our first Christmas navigating celiac x2.
Thankful for my husband who is fun and thoughtful.
Thankful for my coworkers. They’ve done a tremendous job this year.
Thankful that today is the last high school final for my teens. Hurrah! Less stress for everyone in our house, and a bit of time to relax & enjoy the holiday.
Very happy that my son's doctor's appointment is today, finally. He's had ongoing/intermittent back pain for months, and it's taken us forever to get an appointment. He's an athlete, and missing games & events, not to mention biking to school, etc has been very hard for him. Fingers crossed the doctor has good advice & a potential solution.
Thankful for my amazing parents, who are having our kids at their house a bit early, to celebrate the holidays. We will join a few days later (in time for Christmas), but we are having a long weekend alone first. Double thankful that the teens are thrilled about this. I'm so lucky to 1) have parents fun enough that my teenagers want to spend time with them 2) parents in good enough health to enable this and 3) parents who love this idea, and can't wait for teenage boy time. Teenage boys can be a bit of an acquired taste, and my parents are great with them. The benefit of my dad having been a high school football coach/teacher for all of those years. 🙂
Thankful that my husband & I want to spend a long weekend alone (it's our Christmas gift - experiences over stuff!). We unfortunately know too many people who don't enjoy their spouses, but a long weekend to chat & catch up on life, laugh & enjoy time together sounds so wonderful to me.
We got the very sad news that a colleague (who introduced us at work, and was my mentor for 10 years) passed away at 47. While we are both so very sad to hear about his loss, I'm so grateful that I had an opportunity to work with someone so amazing at the beginning of my career. He made such a huge impact on me. When I'm feeling a bit less emotional, I'll send a follow up to his wife, as he was a critical part of my early career, & just a lovely person.
Oh, that sounds like such a lovely weekend! It is wonderful that your parents and your sons get along so well. Enjoy the time with your husband!
And I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your colleague.
I regularly reach out to my 21 year old grandson just to tell him I'm thinking of him. He has been having serious mental health struggles for some time now. He doesn't always answer. This week he texted back that he would love to come over and make a gingerbread house with us, something that we did annually for years when he was younger. He's coming on Saturday.
It made my day. Heck, it made my whole Christmas season.
Oh, Anne, that is just wonderful. Good on you for reaching out, and I am so delighted that you guys will get to make gingerbread houses together.
You are a good grandma. 🙂
@Anne, How wonderful for both of you!
I am thankful for my six grandchildren (ages 6-12) that I get to do fun things for.
I’m thankful that although, after grooming dogs for 26 years that has resulted in arthritis in my hands and fingers, I am still able to groom, although less than I used to.
Very thankful that we have grown kids who still want to celebrate holidays family-style! And that they all live in our same city.
Thankful that Kristen has this blog where we can have “virtual family” and take a peek into what’s important in each other’s lives. Happy Holidays!
I'm thankful this week for my clients, many of whom seem to be reminding me that I'm needed and valued, and that's always a nice feeling.
Thankful for a spouse who understands my moods and is patient and loving even when I am not.
Thankful for my "family" of friends who are supportive and have good advice!
Thankful that our weather is changing so, hopefully, this massive headache I have will go away!
Thankful for caffeine and for extra strength Tylenol (seems we're all on the same kick this week with caffeine and pain relievers!).
And as always thankful for my cozy home, my sweet kitties, and hot showers.
I am not a fan of social media, but I definitely appreciate the ease of staying in touch with technology these days. Even in the old days of public payphones, you had to be near one for it to help! As a teen I was once stranded when the car I was driving stopped - on a small country road, by a grave yard, at night, in farm country, which meant houses were far apart. There were no payphones out there, for sure. A cell phone, had there been such a thing at the time, would have been worth a million bucks to me right then.
1. I'm thankful today that my granddaughter has her driver's license now. I have an office party tonight in the town where I work, so I'll be getting home to the town where I live late this evening. She lives about 10 minutes from my house, so she's going to drive over to my house and take care of my dog and the fish for me. Bonus: my dog adores her.
2. I'm thankful that the granddaughter's mother, my daughter, is driving all the way to my work town to come to the party tonight with me. I enjoy my co-workers, but most of them will have a guest, and it's more fun to have my own, too. Plus, I always enjoy spending time with my kids.
3. I'm thankful for my neighbor who called to warn me that feral hogs have been getting on his property behind ours. He likes our dog and allows her to go explore his property when she's out of our fenced back yard and following me around our unfenced front yard, and he didn't want her - or me! - to encounter the hogs, which could be dangerous.
4. I'm thankful for the patience of the staff at the assisted living facility, when my husband got quite upset at a temporary diet restriction after oral surgery. It's hard for him to lose control of so much, even his diet, and this was a sort of last straw for him.
5. I'm thankful for happy memories of holidays. Some people don't have good holiday memories and might find holidays painful. I feel very, very grateful that my holidays, as a whole, have been really good ones, making me smile as I recall them.
I’m thankful both my parents are healthy this Christmas and we get to spend lots of time together and celebrate.
I’m thankful I don’t have to work full time. The power is out at my kid’s school and he is home with me and his little brother today. It would be so stressful if one of us had to call in sick or try to find a sitter last minute.
I’m thankful for online shopping. All our gifts are bought and wrapped and ready to go and I didn’t have to go to any stores. I’m not a fan of shopping and dislike crowds so it is so convenient to just have it delivered. And I get to shop at all kinds of small businesses around the country and world I wouldn’t necessarily have access to otherwise.
I am grateful for our HR department and managers for all the extra work and scrambling around they are doing to make sure all the employees at my company gets paid while Kronos was ransomware’d. We use Kronos for all scheduling, punching, and payroll so it is a disaster. Such a lot of work and a thankless job right before the holidays.
I’m grateful for our zoo membership we are going there today since both kiddos are home.
To continue the "thankful for 21st-century technology" thought, I'm thankful for Zoom. It has enabled me not only to stay in touch with my three far-flung siblings (who are in CA, AZ, and FL while I'm in Upstate NY), but to continue attending meetings of my local branch of the Jane Austen Society of North America during the pandemic. In fact, until June of this year I couldn't have left DH to attend in-person meetings, so I've benefited doubly from Zoom.
And I'm thankful for my JASNA buddies who coached me last weekend through giving a talk to our branch via Zoom and PowerPoint screen sharing. I couldn't have done it without them.
Finally, I'm thankful to Jane Austen herself today, on her 246th birthday. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my love for JA and her works, and my involvement in JASNA, have changed my life. Three hearty huzzahs for Our Author!!!
@A. Marie,
I have read every single one of her books, and own many of them! Huzzah!
I love Jane Austen too. And now I'm curious; what are your opinions on the various movie adaptations of her books? Any favorites? Any you hate?
(I have to presume you like the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle BBC version of P&P.)
@A. Marie, Huzzah to Jane Austen! 🙂 I am a fan as well.
@Kristen, I like the Firth/Ehle adaptation of P&P--who couldn't like Firth as Darcy?--but with reservations. My main quibble is with the wet shirt scene, which isn't in the book and was inserted by screenwriter Andrew ("Sex-Crazed") Davies for the sole purpose of ratcheting up viewers' pulse levels. I'm so tired of younger folks who come to JA's books via the videos asking, "But where's the wet shirt scene?", I could scream.
TBH, the last adaptation I watched was the 2009 Romola Garai BBC version of Emma, about which I also had reservations. I simply refuse to get interested in the current Sanditon adaptation, which by now is about 99% Andrew Davies and 1% JA.
But I do have a soft spot in my heart for the 1995 Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. Things get a little muddled in the second half of that one, but the first half is magic.
Ok, I did not even know about Sanditon. Geez. Are there any "completions" of the manuscript that you like? I saw that a number of people have taken a stab at "finishing" the manuscript.
@A. Marie, I love that version of Persuasion as well! I haven't seen it in forever!
@Kristen, oh yes, the Colin Firth at the top of the list. But my favorite book and adaptation thereof, is "Sense and Sensibility" with Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslett and many, many more wonderful actors.
I'm thankful for how social media allowed me to bless a friend this week. My friend TM (who is an absolute book lover) posted an "I want this/this is amazing" link to a "Classic Home Librarian Kit" on her FB feed.
So I posted (blocking her from seeing it) asking our local friends who wanted to chip in $5 to get it for her. Seven different friends responded, so we ordered extra book pockets and cards for her as well.
I was so thankful that God used all our gifts -- my time and initiative and funds from others -- to work together to bless TM. I dropped off the gift with her this morning and she burst into incredulous tears as she unwrapped it. I think we made her day.
And we definitely made my day. <3
Aww, that is so kind of you. Yay for a group of friends who were willing to help!
@Dorinda,
That is so sweet!
I am so thankful for this blog. It's like a safe harbor in stormy seas. While I enjoy many aspects of technology, I am increasingly concerned about the less than desirable aspects. I watched The Social Dilemma a few days ago and am still feeling dismayed and depressed. Yet I am hopeful that tech companies (and humanity as a whole) can still get their act together despite mind-boggling evidence to the contrary. I'm not naive, but I just can't give up and lose all hope.
I still haven't watched that! I probably should.
Although Zoom work meetings sometimes make me want to stab myself with a sharp pencil, I am grateful not to have to be packed into a room with people these days. I also get to Zoom occasionally with friends who live far away, so that's good
In non-techy things, I am thankful that our old kitty seems to be getting better with his new allergy medication; that my husband is recovering great from his second cataract surgery; and that our son -- vaccinated and boostered -- tested negative for Covid yet again. He has terrible autumn allergies, and the symptoms mimic a lot of what one is told to look for with Covid, so his job keeps sending him off to be tested. It causes all of us a certain amount of anxiety.
Grateful for technology, though I'm not a digital native. I understand the role it plays in my life, our life and I don't resent it, just need to take breaks frequently.
Grateful for the chance to play live music with people and students, I don't think I'll ever take that for granted again.
Grateful for my good health and access to health care.
Grateful for a chance to visit with family soon, fingers crossed;
and as always, Coffee.
1. I love winter but even I am sick of 35 to 40 below zero day after day. Ice fog forms at those temperatures so driving is more risky. Thankful that it is supposed to warm up within in the next few days, reaching 20 above by Christmas.
2. Thankful every single day that we have a garage so we don't have to plug our vehicle in to keep the engine block from freezing and we don't have to run it for 10 minutes before we get into it so that we can see out the windshield.
3. Thankful for heated seats and a heated steering wheel, so rides are toasty even when it is cold out.
4. Thankful for the poinsettia my husband brought home. He is not big on splurging so spending $15 on a plant he doesn't care about is a sweet gesture.
5. Thankful for hokey Christmas movies. I am not usually interested in movies where it is all happily ever after, but the other night I'd had enough of the real world and I found a completely predictable Christmas movie and husband and I ate popcorn for dinner and watched it.
Thankful for…
- Finishing 6 rounds of chemo across 13 weeks for Stage 1 pancreatic cancer.
- the wonderful medical staff who took care of me while undergoing chemo. It goes without saying, but chemo is NO FUN and messes with every part of your existence- physical, mental, emotional - everything gots knocked for a loop. The wonderful people at the chemo treatment center were able to keep me going even through the roughest parts.
- my family and their unending patience when plans would get upended because of my chemo side effects.
- a break from treatment over the holidays. After the new year we’ll start planning 6 1/2 weeks of daily radiation.
-the chance … opportunity… gift to reevaluate what really is important and the time to apply all these new thoughts. 100 year old eggshell porcelain tea cup gets broken - guess what, it’s just a cup. I’m not going to expend energy on being angry… it’s just pretty clay.
@Kt,
Kt, I hope the treatments help you tremendously, and I'm also very thankful you get a break. We've had some family members go through chemo, and we saw that chemo is so very, very hard on a person. How good it is that you can see this time as a gift. Your attitude is truly admirable.
@Kt, I'm glad you have so much support as you travel a very difficult road.
@Kt, this took my breath away and put everything into clear perspective. I will be holding you close to my heart as you continue treatment. Wishing you all the best.
@Kt, Just wanted to let you know I went through radiation for 7 weeks minus one day and before I started radiation I told my husband that we were going to take a trip out West. Right after radiation and before my next surgery. My son and DIL live there.
Every time I was having a radiation treatment I thought about that trip, where I wanted to go and things I wanted to see. This helped me so much. It was so nice to stay positive about the future. So please plan something fun after your chemo treatments and then your radiation treatments. You deserve it!
Regarding my angry over silly things I agreed with you 100% after having cancer 2x things that used to bother me no longer bother me at all. If I had to say there was an up side to cancer that is it.
@Kt, Thinking of you. It is great that you get a break over the holidays so you might have the energy to enjoy some of the celebrations.
@Kt, thinking of you in Illinois at 0444 am.
@Kt, sending you wishes of love and strength. As well as prayers for your recovery.
You make a good point about technology. I don't really have much in the way of family any more and I don't really get to see people any more.
I too am thankful for technology. I've been doing some fun things like watch parties in some online groups I'm in. It's not a true substitute for a local friend get together but it's nice.
I'm thankful that I have some well deserved time off. I've been needing it!
* Thankfull for great support after my daughter`s autism diagnostic yesterday. Very thankfull to be living in an age where we know more and more about autism. And very very gratefull that DD is very high functionning, despite her challenges
* Thankfull that hubby and I are on the same page financially, that we want the same thing. We are gearing up for a frugal 2022
* To have a job
* To have food in the fridge and pantry
* For my little family
@Isa, Best wishes to your daughter, you and your family, and her team!
I join with your thanks for modern attitudes, and thank the thousands of people with autism, parents, family members, teachers, aides, paras, staff, administrators, lawyers, health care workers, counselors, advocates, volunteers, lawmakers, donors, school boards, and all the others who have lead the change. When I would get the required legal brochure with the statement of student and family rights offered to me at every case conference for my son, I would mentally thank those people again. If every line in there is based on a court case, we have come a long way.
So glad that you've got a good support system in place!
I am so grateful that our kids and their families can all come home over Christmas for an extended visit, 10 days. It will be the most fun since before the pandemic with a granddaughter and two pups added on!
We have done Zoom dinners weekly (to your tech point) and I’m just soo ready for in person family time. They all live a distance so it’s been hard but again, thankful for technology visits that were not possible years ago. I shudder to think what we would have done during this difficult time without it.
1. Our office will be closed this year on Christmas and New Year's Eve so we don't have to commute those days.
2. Yes to being able to facetime with family during the holidays! We were going to see them in person but when the new variant started surging we didn't want to take the risk with a lot of people gathering.
3. For the "golden hour" in my city when the sun sets and all the buildings across the river take on that dusky rose-gold color, so pretty!
4. Harney and Sons Japanese Sencha tea.
5. Folks that pass books along, especially if the library waitlist ahead of me for said book is long so I can read it sooner.
My dishwasher. Always, always my dishwasher.
Definitely thankful for the internet. It's the world's greatest cookbook. It's how I learn about new books. It's where I get to chat with my longtime friends from my parenting group; I've been with these ladies for almost twenty years now. It's where I can learn just about anything I need to kn0w (you know, when you wake up at 3 am and having a burning need to know the capital of Malaysia), find craft patterns, better my knitting/crocheting skills, learn a new language or two, find ideas of things to do with my daughter (both locally and at home), and check out ebooks from my library.
I also attend virtual services at my synagogue from my living room and have been engaging with a lot of virtual Jewish programming throughout the pandemic. It's really been amazing, the amount of education that people have offered, and the means to connect during this time. I've been and will forever be grateful for this! 🙂
So Thankful for ….
My hairdresser
Sushi for Lunch
Holiday Movies
Leftovers on Thursday
All shopped and wrapped for Christmas
My daughter is hosting Christmas this year
Thrivent Action Grant gifted for Giving Joy (toys) for needy children at our church
Thankful that another grand baby is on the way. She should be delivered tonight. I can't wait to meet her.
Because I am so very frustrated with my work load at work I will try to find some thankfulness in it.
I really like all my co-workers they are all totally awesome.
I am still remote part time, hugely helpful with dogs not having to be alone for very long during the day.
I have worked there a long time and have always enjoyed working there.
I am glad that I am really good at saving money because I know for sure I will not be working till I am 65. I think we should be ok retiring in the next 2 years or so. If there was universal health insurance I would have retired already.
Happy that all my Christmas gifts are purchased and ready--except for one very special gift, to be embroidered by my daughter. She promises that the needlework and the beading will be finished by Monday so I can overnight it to New Orleans to my BFF. Said BFF is childless, and loves my kids, and had a pacemaker installed last week and has less than two years to live. I am trying very very hard to remember to be glad I had her for as long as I have rather than be miserable about the little time she has left. Also she and I are going to write an extremely funny obit for her after Christmas. We're both looking forward to it. She deserves it.
@Rose, I am sorry that you and your friend must navigate thru such sadness. Virtual hugs to you.
Oh man, that's got to be a rough road. I often thought of chemo patients when I was pregnant since the nausea meds I was taking were initially developed for nauseous cancer patients. Nausea and vomiting are so tough to deal with long-term.
Like everyone else, I hope that this holiday break from treatment gives you some much-needed rest!