This week I am thankful for:
1. Electricity
Adam's cousin John came and worked on our electricity on Saturday. He's a master electrician, so he rewired part of the house and installed a new circuit breaker box. Apparently the box we had could have been featured on Antiques Roadshow. Because he and Adam were working on the electricity all day on Saturday, we didn't have any power for most of the day. When the air conditioner came back on, I sent up a prayer of thanks that we have lights and air conditioning that work.
2. No electricity
Yes, while I am very grateful for the prescence of electricity, I was also glad that we didn't have it for almost a whole day. No dishwasher, computer, or lights. I had no choice but to ignore all my chores and play with the kids. I couldn't clean house so we had to go swimming. Poor us.
3. Cloud formations
The sky always holds a new and exciting shape. I love staring at the sky and drawing pictures in my mind of what the clouds represent.
4. Family games
Our family, even little Paul, loves to play UNO. We have this awesome version called UNO Attack! where the cards shoot out you instead of drawing from a stack. The entire family loves strategizing against each other. Paul gets so excited when he can skip one of us. Claire loves the "trade hands" card.
5. Wal-Mart as a Spiritual Practice
I just finished re-reading An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. It is a beautifully written book about becoming concious of God in your everyday life. She discusses spiritual practices that remind us that we are human. I was spurred to begin viewing Wal-Mart shopping as a spiritual practice.
When I shop at Wal-Mart, I am reminded that I am no better than the toothless cashier or the woman with her underwear hanging out the bottom of her shorts. I, too, am a Wal-Mart shopper and a human and we are all equal. On Friday, I was delighted that the Wal-Mart cashier was able to fill in the missing lyrics to the "Dear Liza" song. I'm fairly certain that a Target cashier won't hold up her line to sing you five verses of "There's a hole in my bucket, Dear Liza."
6. Postal Workers
It is humbling to me to see our postlady walking in pants through our yard with a towel on her shoulder to wipe her forehead and a smile on her face as she brings us mostly junkmail. She is walking and walking in 100+ degree heat to bring us junkmail. God bless her.
7. Good neighbors
Yesterday morning the doorbell rang at 7:45 a.m. It was our neighbor from down the street, Loretta, who was going out of town and didn't want her fruit to spoil. She brought us her fruit and leftover donuts from her church instead of just pitching them. Later that day, Paul fell on his bicycle and another neighbor ran out with an icepack for his injured hand.
8. Memberships
Last week I was trying to let the kids pick whatever they wanted to do. They wanted to go to the zoo. At noon. On a day I was wearing pants. In 106 degree heat. We went, but we only lasted 45 minutes. I was so grateful that the trip wasn't a waste of money since we have a membership. The next day we went to the museum and used another membership where we could enjoy air-conditioned entertainment.
9. Educational placemats
We recently got Claire a placemat that was a map of the United States. (Paul's hasn't arrived yet.) Every meal she reviews what states she knows the names and locations of. I might not be able to list all 50 states and place them on a map, but I'm going to make sure my children don't have the same problem.
10. Post-
There are few books that I read that don't have a Post-It note in them where I have taken notes or marked a meaningful passage. When I plan my meals, I put Post-Its on the recipes in the cookbooks I will use. Post-Its really make my life easier.
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