This week, I am thankful:
for a fun trip to see my friends in Texas
I am so, so happy that I was able to go visit my friend and her family. It was a delight to see them all after so many years.
that my friend’s kids are friendly
Only the oldest remembered me from five years ago, but no matter; the other three became besties with me quickly, and I felt so loved.
On the third day, one of them said, “You know Miss Kristen, you feel like family. I think we will adopt you as our aunt.”
These kiddos REALLY love Snapchat filters. 😉
And one morning, the two younger ones were knocking on my bedroom door, saying, “Miss Kristen, please wake up! We VERY want to see you.” And that made me laugh.
When my friends lived here, the oldest always wanted to take a selfie with me after church. I have a whole series on my phone like these:
Us in 2015
So when we went to church in Texas, she and I took another selfie, for old time’s sake.
She got a lot taller in the last 7 years!
for the sweet notes from my friend’s kids
The five-year-old made me a drawing while I was there (“so you will never forget me,” she said.)
And then when I got home, I found one from the ten-year-old in my backpack.
I think these kids have concerns about my memory. 😉
that Sonia was able to be my airport chauffeur
I was really thankful she was able to take me to and from the airport; she even cheerfully picked me up when my plane landed at midnight on the way home.
that my plane ride home turned out ok
The Dallas Love Field airport had a shooting incident the morning I was supposed to fly home, so my flight plans got a little discombobulated.
I was starting to worry I might spend the whole night in the St. Louis airport (where I was supposed to switch planes), but mercifully, I got to switch to a different flight and I made it home on time.
And of course, I am mainly thankful that no one got hurt except the suspect.
for some cooler temperatures at home
The Texas air was indeed low humidity air, but my goodness, it was hot. Whenever I opened the car door to get out, the blast of heat felt the same as when you open a hot oven door!
It had been hot, hot, hot here at home too, but once I got home, the heat had broken a little bit.
D
Saturday 30th of July 2022
Oh my goodness! You were in the town of the YouTuber Breafkast! (Yes, spelled just like that;) she rescues so many things from dumpsters. The quantity of useable things she saves from landfills is mind blowing. She is amazing and sweet and real. I very highly recommend her channel. Her person (husband? BF.) is the one who opened Gnome Cones I believe.
Bean
Thursday 28th of July 2022
Thankful my son only sprained his hand and didn’t break it. Ah camp injuries.
Linda in Canada
Thursday 28th of July 2022
My mind is mush, let's see what I can come up with.
Thankful: always: for my home brewed coffee, I make one cup every morning, and I have yet to find anyone/ any coffee place that can make it the way I like it. So home brew it is everyday.
Thankful: my husband and I got to go up north to a friends new house in the lake area. He is not on a lake as houses on a lake or river are exorbitant in price. It was a very relaxing 2 days which for me is a lovely change as I am generally an anxious ball of stress.
Thankful: my sister came to visit me to calm me down: we are dealing with our (late) mother's estate, and issues with our brother, see anxious ball of stress above. My sister will handle all the dealings from now on so that I can remain relatively calm.
Thankful for a cool house, even without the AC on. We have programmed it to kick in at 79F, but it rarely reaches that inside. (may have mentioned this before..)
Happy weekend to everyone.
Dawn
Thursday 28th of July 2022
My thankful list: This year I have been able to visit both sets of parents after 2 1/2 years for my Arizona set and 3 years for my New Hampshire set (along with my brother's family). That neither set of parents has declined much or aged in that time (despite MS for my mom). That my older nephew and his almost fiancé came to town for a wedding the exact time we were there in New Hampshire. That my younger daughter is able to travel with me (38 and no kids yet). She is the best travel companion! We were able to paint a livingroom this visit to New Hampshire and move a large entertainment center, as well as turn a rug (involved moving a lot of furniture) and did some of the "high work" (cutting into siding etc) so a screen door could be installed. My stepdad has limited range of motion in his arms due to needing shoulder replacements, so all of those tasks were beyond his ability to do at this point. That despite an hour and a half traffic delay and detour (the entire freeway was shut down), construction in downtown Boston, arriving at the airport on the shuttle at 4:03 (and our flight boarding at 4:17), still needing to get our tickets, and get through security, we made our flight and arrived home as planned last night! Thankful for the kindness of the ticket agent who called the gate and told them to reopen the baggage doors for our bags, blaming their long lines (and seriously, it was not their fault we arrived late). Thankful for Alaska gate personnel who called me while waiting for my daughter to get through security to verify we were flying today and allowed us the moments we needed to race to our gate. For AC! Both in an usually humid week in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (portables in various rooms), and our current heat wave in the Seattle area. I'm thankful my older daughter's husband's knee surgery went well Monday. It was scheduled after my trip was planned so I couldn't be there to help with kids, but his family did some of that. He'll be on bedrest a week, and limited driving for 3, so maybe there will be an opportunity to help chauffer grandkids to basketball and soccer.
Jamie S.
Thursday 28th of July 2022
I'm so happy to hear you had safe travels, despite the incident in Dallas on the same day you traveled! Here is my list for the week: 1. I also got to visit with my best friend this week. She and her family stayed in Lake Tahoe, which is only about 45 minutes from my house, so I got to see her and her family a few times while they were here. She and I have been best friends since we were in kindergarten! It is always so great to see her, and her kids treat me much like your friend's kids treat you, Kristen! 2. There were TWO cloudy days this week!! I don't love the summer heat at all, so anything to break that up is welcome. Also, my favorite weather is cloudy, cool, and rainy (I'm living in the wrong area for that!). Even though it wasn't super cool or rainy, I'll still take the clouds. 3. My husband's family has a cabin in the mountains about two hours from our house, and we are currently staying here for a week. We do pay to contribute to the expenses each year, so it isn't necessarily a free vacation, but it is still fairly frugal. And so, so lovely to be able to escape to the mountains! 4. I have a lovely group of women friends from work who are super supportive and encouraging. Teaching isn't very easy right now, and I'm so thankful to have these women in my circle. Two of them spontaneously showed up at my house this week, and we ended up having such a nice time hanging out for a few hours and catching up since we are on summer break. 5. I am quite thankful for my very supportive and frugally minded husband. Because of both of those qualities, I will likely be able to purchase some years of service in my teaching contract and retire early. Yay!