Gratitude: Day Ten

I am grateful for a twilight glass of wine on the porch with Frank.

Gratitude: Day Nine

I am grateful for this guy today. He's been my trusty companion all day and has made everything fun.

Gratitude: Day Eight

Today I am grateful for this bowl of African Peanut Soup which was exactly what I needed for lunch.

Gratitude: Day Six

I am very grateful that Frank loves math and can make long division sound so easy.

Gratitude: Day Five

I am grateful, today, for cooperation.

We have a tangle of a week ahead of us with not one but two Tae Kwon Do belt tests, an awards ceremony, the book fair at Max's school, a large project that has to be finished up and Frank is leaving town for a few days. This afternoon we sat down for a family meeting and just walked through the week and everyone's expectations.

Not that we won't hit a snag or two, I know we will, but when we inevitably do, we will all at least be on the same page.

Gratitude: Day Two

Usually in San Antonio, getting into your car after it has been parked for an hour in the sun is an ordeal. It is much like climbing into an oven. Everything is too hot to comfortably touch. There may or may not be swearing involved. It is one of my least favorite things about living here.

 

This morning was cool and breezy. When I left The Foundry and walked down the block to my car, I was shivering in the gusty wind.  I buttoned up my sweater as I fumbled for my keys. What a surprise to discover the inside of my car was toasty and warm from sitting for an hour or so in the morning sun. I was grateful for that.

Gratitude: Day One

I am practicing gratitude for the month of November.
I’m grateful for a lot of little things this morning. Hot coffee. Effective cold medicine. Cooler weather. The Invention of Hugo Cabret which I finished last night and Max finished this morning. But the thing I am most grateful for today is this lumpy, well-worn loveseat.

When I injured my neck this summer one of the worst consequences was that I could not sit anywhere in the house comfortably. I could sit in a kitchen chair or my desk chair for a little while but soft things like this loveseat or the couch caused excruciating pain. After a while I was able to sit in my wooden rocker and that has been my default seat for months as my pinched nerve slowly released itself and started to heal.
The past two evenings I have been able to sit comfortably in this lumpy old loveseat and for that, I am truly grateful.

Spring Break

We stayed home for our spring break. We laughed, cooked and ate together. We listened to music and made music and danced. We slid and floated and swam. We each uncoiled from our regular workload, stretched and rested. We saw Up, which totally wrecked me in the first five minutes, honestly I never recovered and Diary of a Wimpy Kid which is a darn good movie with a beautiful message about being yourself and being true to your friends. We absorbed some sad news and found a way, I hope, to look on the bright side. We spent a lot of time outside.

Frank and Max made a sundial.

Max decided to get his hair cut.

There was tennis

and the inevitable trip

to the guitar store

where Max flirted with a drum kit.

We played games

and wrapped up the week with a ride on the little train at the zoo this morning

in chilly perfect sunshine.

The Turkey Has Landed

Thanksgiving Break is upon us. Max is out of school and Janson the Turkey is roosting on my favorite rocking chair.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all (Happy Thursday if you're in Canada)!

My epic tale of cooking catastrophe and (hopefully) triumph will have to wait, at least until tomorrow.

Enjoy your feast and count your blessings!