List 43 things in my life for which I'm grateful

1. The birds that are nesting in the mechanism that opens my garage door. I thought I had scared them off, since one of the parents nearly beat itself senseless against a window the first time it saw me. They are fine with me now, though if I make too much noise, the little chirpers in the nest grow silent. I only worry that the cats will catch the little ones once they fledge.

2. A productive day.

3. Getting to go to the sale at Bath and Body Works after work today, and picking up major bargains.

4. The sign that someone made for me with my office hours on it, with a kitty, a ball of yarn, and a mouse. Must find out who.

5. Hair that is long enough to put up, especially since I seldom seem to get the chance to dry it until afternoon.

1. My Mom because she has always be supportive of me and patient, even when I didn’t deserve her gentleness.
2. My Dad because he’s been this strong rock for me. He’s provided very well for my material needs and I find security in him.
3. My sister because I can talk to her about things that others would simply shrug off or laugh at. I’m happy she’s a free thinking passionate person who is not afraid to go her own way.
3. My brothers because they’ve been generous and protective towards me.
4. My nieces and nephews because they make me smile, and because I’ve learned much from them.
5. The friendship I have with my oldest niece. We are only a year apart. She is someone in my life who holds many of my secrets and dreams. I see her as my own sister, we just live in different houses.
6. All the friends I have had throughout the years. Whether they were for only a season or more, they have brought laughter and joy into my life, and I can’t thank them enough.
7. To be able to work towards getting a university degree.
8. My Russian language professor. She’s been so kind and patient with me that I just want to give her a big hug!
9. All my morning cups of coffee.
10. Having a warm safe bed to sleep in at night.
11. Sunsets and sunrises.
12. Looking out my bedroom window and seeing snow illuminated by the moon.
13. Having been born in a western country. I’m a young woman, and I’m very happy that I don’t live in some violent oppressive country.
14. Drinkable tap water.
15. Having a bike and being able to use it.
16. My grandparents because they were good hardworking people.
17. Spending time with my mom. Whether we are at home having tea together, or are out shopping, I’m happy that I have a mom to do things with.

1. for getting up the courage to approach my book again and for getting some work done on it.
2. for Bird’s Eye steam in the microwave veggies.
3. for my default mood: cheerful. I notice the absence of that mood because I am melancholy tonight (though I just smiled at the word melancholy, because it reminds me of the old joke—my melancholy baby: head like a melon, face like a collie. Haha.)
4. for my dear, soft, sweet kitties.
5. for my dear hubby and his sense of humor.

1. Cooking two nights in a row . . . and surviving.
2. Dear friends P. and A., and P’s friend B. P and B are going to fix hubby’s electric wheelchair so that it will fit into the van.
3. The nice woman in Sam’s yesterday who helped me unload my overloaded cart. She was a customer, and she helped me. She made my day!
4. The ground beef I got at Sam’s yesterday. Fresh meat that smelled and looked fresh, red all the way through the package and only 10 percent fat. Pattied and froze some and put the rest in my yummy spaghetti sauce.
5. B, who lent us DVDs to watch this weekend.
6. The weekend.
7. The strength, physical and mental, to take care of my hubby and stay sane (well, some might question that) and happy. Please, dear God, let that strength last.
8. My comfortable, wheelchair-accessible, light-filled house.
9. A new Dean Koontz book to read . . . Brother Odd. Loved Odd Thomas, though it has been a while since I read it. The woman who helped me unload my cart in Sam’s said there is yet another one in the series.
10. Feeling like I do a good job at work.

1. Gratitude itself. This goal helps me see the good things in life. Why focus on the bad?
2. A call from my father-in-law tonight thanking us for the Carlsbad Oblaten we sent him. He is an old-world sort, not a Hostess Ho-Ho type, and he really liked the treat.
3. Laughs at work today over the informational/inspirational program our division is presenting to its students.
4. Feeling cool at this moment instead of hot.
5. That the brown and yellow spider I relocated this morning was not a “brown widow,” a venomous new variety in our area. Her web was symmetrical, and a brown widow’s is haphazard, like a cobweb. Had she been a widow, I might have felt I had to kill her.
6. The smart little snake that wrapped itself around the handle of the filter basket in the pool so as not to be sucked down in the basket and drowned. He slithered off into the grass when I put the basket onto the concrete.
7. The pharmacy I use now. It’s more convenient to me than the old one, and they do just as good a job.
8. Our two new, enthusiastic faculty members at work. I like them both, and I am proud that I chaired the committee that hired them. I can’t help but look at them and notice how jaded some of our faculty are. Thank goodness for those of us that aren’t!

1. That tomorrow is Friday.
2. That I finally have a good, dependable, comes-every-other Thursday yard person.
3. That my cat Lil lets me hold her upside down and scratch her tummy.
4. That I have a job.
5. That I rescued a kind of bug I had never seen from the pool this morning. It was black, beetle-like, and huge, with long, thick, bristly antennae, almost as long as its whole body. It had a face only a mother bug could love. :/

has not been with me in a long time. But this past week, when I was semi-off from work, I cleared many obstacles and problems from my slate. I filed Nick’s retirement, which has hung over me like the Sword of Damocles since January. I bought a wheelchair van. I cleared the last of the hospital bills form the “owed” column of my ledger. I got someone to mow my lawn. I cleaned my office.

Yesterday, Nick wanted to go back to bed early. He watched baseball, and I lay on the sofa and slept . . . and slept. It was almost nightmarish. I would wake up, worried that there was something undone, and check to see if he needed his pills, if the bedding needed changing, and so on. I did what had to be done, then slept again. Last night, I had a full night sleep.

This morning, in the shower, it came back—the bubble and perk of creative thought that effortlessly rises to the top of a rested brain. I honestly do not think I have drunk those cool and intoxicating waters since Nick’s aneurysm burst back in 2005. The perfect solution to two small problems, rising to the surface with no effort at all. I am content.

Molly :)

3 Its a beautiful day out there today

2. I Don’t have to go back to work until Wednesday