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Thankful Thursday | time to exercise!

New here? Thankful Thursday is something we’ve been doing in these COVID times; an exercise to help us hunt for the good that is in our lives and in the world, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Ready for our weekly gratitude muscle workout? 🙂

This week I am thankful:

for library books to read

I finished two this week and am working on a third and fourth.

stack of library books

for a sunny day instead of rain

Sunny days are great in any circumstances but they’re particularly sweet when rain was promised and then you get sun instead!

That happened this week and it made my heart happy.

for dry air

I will never not be grateful for low-humidity air in the fall. NEVER.

(in other words, my delightedness over the dry air may reappear in future Thankful Thursday posts.)

for plentiful food and safe housing

One of the books I’m reading right now is Evicted, and it has reminded me again that there are people in the world for whom food and housing are not a given.

for the many privileges I’ve had

Reading the stories of the people in Evicted is making me think about how many hardships some people face. Like, the odds are terribly stacked against some people from the start of their lives and my goodness, I just have never faced the level of challenges that they do, even in my most penniless days.

Part of me feels guilty about this, but that’s probably not a super helpful reaction. Better to let this make me thankful, give me compassion, and inspire me to help others.

that I got to learn how to cook as a teenager

Being comfortable in the kitchen makes life much easier in a lot of ways. So I am grateful that my mom let me make daily messes in the kitchen while I was a teenager.

that I usually sleep pretty well at night

I have occasional sleep issues, but for the most part, I get a decent amount of sleep each night. 

I know that makes even the hard days much more manageable.

that I am able to help Sonia and Zoe with their math

I am glad that I can understand what they’re doing and help them with it.

Happily, this gets easier and easier for me as I homeschool, because by the time Zoe gets to a particular math level, I’ve already gotten a refresher on it three times with her older siblings.

Kristen math saxon

Now, anything beyond Algebra 2? Nope. Not doing it. The college professors can handle it from there. 😉

that Sonia and Zoe have each other

Sonia is a very social person, and now that one older sibling has moved out and the other is very busy with work and college, she would be pretty lonely if she were the baby of the family.

sonia and zoe as toddlers

Sonia and Zoe, 2007

So, it’s a mercy that Zoe is here! Zoe’s pretty introverted, but still, she and Sonia have some fun times together, and Sonia is much less lonely than she’d be without Zoe.

Zoe will probably eventually be the sole kid at home, but since she’s an introvert, she’s gonna be fine with that situation. 😉

that I live in a world where there are Octobers

As Anne from Anne of Green Gables says. 😉

fall leaves by a lake

from a previous year; the leaves are mostly green still here right now

What are you thankful for this week?

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Marilyn

Sunday 4th of October 2020

Thankful for health insurance. I needed hearing aides and insurance paid more than I ever dreamed.

I need to now get used to hearing again. I think my family will need to learn I can hear good again also. HAHA

priskill

Saturday 3rd of October 2020

Aw your little girls are too adorable! And Anne always has much to teach us -- lots of scope there!

You are so right to remind us to be thankful for my family and modest home, and not having to live outside in this heat as I am seeing so many others doing all over the city As you point out, I am SO lucky. How are so many being left behind? How can that even happen here? So, yes, I am so grateful and thank you for reminding me!

Some little happy things:

Library -- yes! and my book club meeting on zoom!

Happy that it is going below 100 degrees starting tomorrow. 98 will seem downright fall-like

Frozen pizza -- doctored up with extra veggies -- lifesaver. A happy, easy, cheap meal. I have a free one waiting in the freezer :)

A happy moment today when I met up with an ex-student (now 10) and his little brother, while I was trying to get materials out of my car to deliver to another student. "Hey,' yelled little bro, "I thought you were just another old lady!" :) The ex-student had arrived as a kinder with so many challenges- intellectual disability and anger issues. Now, at 10, he is another boy entirely! He current teacher has done a marvelous job and he is learning to read and be part of the larger school community (when it's in session) and he is HAPPY. And this old lady is happy to know them :)

Jan

Friday 2nd of October 2020

On Monday I left my home not sure it would be here when I returned. We live in Santa Rosa, California and the wildfires are here again. We evacuated to a nice and clean but nondescript hotel in a not great part of the Bay Area to wait it out.

Today I was very grateful to return home. Outside burnt leaves and ash are a testimony to how dangerous things were when we left. A layer of ash covers everything inside too--it penetrated our closed windows. I've even found ash in my glass fronted china cabinet. The world looks dirty and dingy from all the ash in the air.

But I am thankful to have a home to return to--some of my friends were not so lucky. A dear friend lost her home and her photography studio. They barely escaped with their lives from the fire moving much faster than anyone could have anticipated. I am thankful they survived and will be able to rebuild.

It has certainly put these crazy times in perspective again.

priskill

Saturday 3rd of October 2020

So very glad for you!!

Michelle H

Friday 2nd of October 2020

Thanks for the book recommendation. Just finished Nomadland and it was very sad how many people are on the fringes.

Vicki Skonieczny

Friday 2nd of October 2020

I am thankful that I stumbled across your blog a few months ago.

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