Double Duty Thank You

Last week I was swamped with tasks and I didn't get to type my thankful list.  I always keep a running list going in my car, in my journal, and on various post-in notes, so I'm always recording my thoughts, but last week I just didn't have time to sit down at the keyboard and compose them.  With my grandfather in rehab in Irving, I fear this week will also be hugely busy, so I'm going to give my readers 20 things that I'm thankful for to cover the last seven days and the next seven.

1.  Traffic that makes you stop to observe your surroundings
Since my grandfather has been ill and in the hospital and now rehab, I've been doing a lot of driving and a lot of sitting in traffic.  One night as we were driving home from an errand we were stuck in traffic during a beautiful sunset.  If there hadn't been traffic, we would have gone forward without savoring the beauty.  I'm grateful when life makes me stop.

2.  Entertainment during traffic
Oh the fun games the kids and I play in the car!  Last week we rolled down our windows and started yelling at bales of hay.  "Hey, hay!  Hey, hay!"  Claire was doing the honk horn symbol to everyone that passed.  We were cracking up.

3.  Finding quality care for a loved one
My cousin and I were faced with placing my grandfather in a rehab facility this week and I am grateful we chose one with employees that care about their patients.  When my grandmother was ill we learned that the furnishings of a retirement home have nothing to do with the quality of care that patients receive.  We selected one with decent furnishings and so far, high quality care.

4.  Hand washing
One of my soapboxes (literally) around here is the importance of washing your hands in relation to your overall health.  Adam and I have instilled in both our children that washing hands is part of going to the bathroom.  Now that Claire is in kindergarten, she has taken that knowledge to school and is unknowingly holding janitors accountable to keep the soap dispensers full and her teacher on her toes about making sure at least one child washes her hands with soap and water multiple times a day. 
Also, when I went to see my granddad for the first time in his new abode, I walked in on him washing  his hands very thoroughly.  I don't remember the last time I saw him at a sink taking care of himself.  It was a moment of rejoicing because the day before he seemed not to be able to get out of bed.

5.  Physical therapy for all
Part of my grandfather's physical therapy is practicing to catch and throw balls.  We were visiting him and Paul picked up a ball and joined in the fun.  I have some pictures of the two of them playing ball; something they have never done together.

6.  Text messages that avoid fights
My father has decided that the best way to communicate with his family in North Texas is through text messaging.  Apparently he has chosen the correct way because we've had several courteous conversations that way and when he had to speak to my cousin the other day on the phone, they mutually decided that text messaging was a more positive way to go.  I believe that if we didn't have that avenue, there would be a lot of yelling.

7.  Ghosting neighbors
This week after the kids went to bed, our doorbell rang.  No one was there, but there was a bag of candy with a note.  We had been "ghosted", and our job was to pass it on to two other neighbors.  It was such a cute idea that we chose three houses.  The kids were so excited to run up to a house, ring the doorbell and run away.  We were only discovered once, when both kids were giggling so loud we were caught red-handed.

8.  Flying squirrels
Driving home from church a minute ago, I saw a squirrel jump from the ground, three foot in the air, to land in a tree.  I am so happy when I glance around and happen to time it just right to see sights like that.

9.  Play dates with friends
We had Claire's two best school friends over after school this week for a play date.  Both girls were polite and well behaved.  There was a lot of giggling and no fighting.  I was so happy that for her best friends, she chose the same girls I would have chosen for her.

10.  Knowing my kids are safe and loved
My kids feel quite at home at our church, Arlington Heights UMC.  They feel so at home that they sort of wander around greeting everyone in there path, and accepting cookies from many, many friends.  (One day Paul ate 12 cookies.)  Whenever we're at church, I always know that whatever part of the building the children are in, they are safe and they are loved.  I cannot ask for more.

11.  Smoothly paved roads
As I've been burning rubber on 183 and I-30, I appreciate the good condition our highways are in.  In some parts of the world you cannot travel very fast because of potholes or lack of pavement.  In Fort Worth, Texas, we don't even think about it.  Our only concern is traffic, not the quality of driving surfaces.

12.  Long drives by myself.
A few times I've trekked to Irving alone to see my grandfather.  It's so peaceful in the car.  Usually I don't even turn on the radio; I just listen to all the thoughts in my head until they calm down.  Sometimes I roll the windows down and blare out music that's not really appropriate for children.  Either way, I enjoy being by myself.

13.  Alone time
Adam and the kids have been camping for nearly 24 hours.  I expect to hear of their arrival home any minute now.  For 24 hours I have gratefully acknowledged that no one needed me and I could do and eat what I please.  I shopped, I finished a book, I worked, I watched bad TV, I went out with a friend, I went to worship alone.  It was fabulous, but it also makes me realize how much richer my life is with my kids around.

14.  The Lizard Reality Show
Every night after dark, a family of lizards gathers on the screen of my kitchen window.  From that post, they catch and eat flies and seem to socialize.  It's fascinating to watch them hunt the fly, catch it, chew it, and even watch their stomach muscles begin to digest it.  We call it our own reality show.

15.  Catching up
Until the kids arrive home in about an hour, I can relax knowing I have caught up all the laundry.  Every sock has been matched, folded, and put away, every shirt has been hung....for now.

16.  Listeners
Last night I went to dinner with a friend.  We talked and talked and talked and talked.  We even talked about talking and about how sometimes we know we're not interesting.  She told me about how her husband often tells her stories from work or the news that she might not be interested in, but she listens with interest because he listens to her when she tells him about the bargain she got with a coupon.  Sometimes I know I'm just rambling and not even making sense or possibly even words any more.  I am so grateful that I have a few people in my life that listen anyway, even if I'm just spewing words.

17.  Books you can relate to
I just finished Mitten Strings for God.  It's about being a busy mom, and several times in the book, I wanted to contact the author to find out how she crawled inside my head to know what I needed to read.  I loved that book almost as much as An Altar in the World, which also made me want to shout, "That's what I think, too!"

18.  Wind chimes
We live in a very quiet neighborhood.  Right now the only sound I hear is the wind blowing the wind chimes next door.

19.  My husband
Since my granddad has been in the hospital, my favorite husband has been picking up the slack for me.  He answers the phone and completes chores when I'm resting.  He eats frozen pizza twice in a week.  He helps get the kids to bed.  Right now he's wrapping up 24 hours of taking care of the kids by himself.  I love that man!

20.  Knowing how blessed I am
Several times in the last two weeks I have been overwhelmed with gratitude for something.  I have received a set of gift books from a family who are all unemployed.  The church custodian gave me a Halloween lapel pin this morning.  I've had offers of babysitting from the extremely pregnant and a lady with excruciating back pain.  I've had unexpected hugs from friends.  My children and husband have all been supportive and understanding in this ordeal with my family.  Every day I know I am loved and every day I am grateful.

Day 36 LBJ Lola is sick!

Today Lola was supposed to come over for a playdate but she was sick.  I'm sad that she's not coming.  I'd like to call Bailey, but we don't have her phone number.

The Best Friends are Claire, Lola, Bailey, and Zachary.  Where is Zachary's house? I know he lives on Wessex Avenue.  Can we see his house from our driveway?

Tomorrow I will go to art class again.  I figured out there's a sign with a clip and it says where we will go. 

Here's a joke:  Do you know what I call Jake?  Rhino.

Thankful Twednesday

Hello from the beautiful city of Fort Worth, where we are enjoying a beautiful sunny day after a beautiful rainy night and morning.  Yesterday I was just too tired to type, so today I'm doing my tardy thankful list.

Today I am thankful for:
1.  Days off
From 4:30 a.m. yesterday to 10 p.m. when I collapsed, I was going non-stop.  I love days like that because they are so productive, but I really love days like today that consisted of little productivity and some rest and calm.

2.  The excitement of superheroes
Yesterday Paul was handed down a Batman costume.  He's been wearing it pretty much the entire time he's had it.  This morning I asked him to get Sugar Dot so we could put the dog in his kennel.  Paul chased him out from under the bed and announced, while wearing his Batman costume, that he was a good superhero.  Yes, he is.

3.  The sound of rain
Few sounds are more beautiful that rain falling softly on your window as you sleep.  We've been blessed with several rainstorms this week and after the drought, we are grateful.

4.  Help around the house
Last Thursday, Adam's godparents parked their huge RV in our driveway and dug in to help out.  The official reason was to visit us, but it was apparent after a few days of scrubbing, that the unofficial reason was to help me in the never ending battle with housework.

5.  Finding treasure at the thrift store
I'm working on the kids' Halloween costumes, so we went to my old favorite thrift store, McCart Thrift.  I hadn't been there since Claire was a baby and I forgot what great merchandise they had.  I scored a solid leather Liz Claiborne purse, brand new, for $9.  I also got three new blouses, all under $5/each, all designer names.  Paul got some rain boots (Yes, another pair) and Claire got some peace sign flip flops. (Yes, her second pair of those.)

6.  Not having to shop at the thrift store
As much as I love shopping at the thrift store, I am so grateful that we are not forced to shop there.  We have a variety of places we can afford to shop at; I just love a great bargain.

7.  Kids' gifts in the mail
Adam's mom sent a giant package last week to the kids.  Inside were many treasures for the kids.  They were elated.

8.  Pride at the flea market
On Saturday, we went to the flea market at the Will Rogers Coliseum.  I bought Claire and I each a coin purse and paid a little too much for them, but when I thought about it, I'm glad I did.  I was able to engage the crafter in conversation about her handiwork and how proud she was of it.  Listening to someone take pride in their work is worth a few bucks.

9.  New games
This afternoon Paul engaged me in a game of "tennis."  This involved using tennis rackets as golf clubs in the garage.  He was excited I was doing well, and I was excited that there was no winner in the game.  We were just playing for fun with no mention of who was "winning."  I love that my kids enjoy the process and don't worry so much about the winner.

10.  Peace
Today Paul and I went to see my grandfather.  I mopped his house and completed a few other tasks he had for me.  Paul slept.  He fell asleep in the car on the way over and slept for the entire time we were there.  My grandfather and I just sat silently together for a long time.  He shared some recollections of my grandmother and what he was thinking about other family members.  I listened and enjoyed the silence.  Paul enjoyed not having anyone disturb his nap in his Batman costume.

Thankful Tuesday

Hello!  I made it on Tuesday this week!  Currently my daughter is painting with hot pink paint and my son is crying because I unpacked his school bag, but nonetheless, I am still thankful!

Here's my list this week!

1.  Being on time
After what seemed to be a slippery slope of near tardiness, we got Claire to school right on time today.  I can't get up any earlier, so I'm hoping better time management will help us to make this a habit.

2.  Not getting a ticket
Adam and I both earned a $500 pedestrian violation ticket on Saturday when we left the State Fair, but luckily, the cop let us go with a good talking-to.

3.  Missing the train
We were in a dangerous position on Saturday, in between an opportunity to get crushed by a freight train or hit by a TRE, we escaped both.  Please read.

4.  Neighbor kids
We live in an older neighborhood and there aren't many kids to play with.  My children don't mind, but you would have thought a celebrity came to our house this Sunday when the boy down the street played in the driveway on his scooter.  He's 14, so I doubt he was as excited as the kids were, but he was very sweet to them and showed them his tricks.  He also respected my wish to keep my kids in the driveway.

5.  Bor-ed
I don't think I posted this last week, but if I did, know I'm still grateful for it.  Claire came home the other day and said, "You know so and so in my class?  She told the teacher she was bor-ed.  What is that?"  I laughed because my children have never used that word.  There's too much to do to be bored.  Besides, Claire didn't even pronounce it correctly.

6.  Electric windows
Remember when you had to crank the windows up and down?  I am so spoiled with electric windows in my car, that rolling up windows by hand sounds miserable to me.

7.  Free fun at the State Fair
Since we spent lots of money on train tickets and food, we were grateful for the free quality entertainment at the fair.  We saw African Acrobats, stunt dogs, and stunt BMX riders, all for no additional money.  Woot!

8.  Kleenex
I feel as if I listed this before, but oh well.  When I was young, I had terrible allergies, and my mother was constantly getting on to me about how many kleenex I was "wasting."  Nowadays you can get a box for $1 so I even let my kids make crafts with it.  There's not a sneeze in my house that can't be met with a kleenex.

9.  Kids that entertain themselves
On Saturday, we had to wait an hour for our train.  The kids didn't even notice.  They were too busy playing red light green light with their colored fans from the State Fair.

10.  Emergency ice
Also on Saturday (an eventful day) Paul fell off a bicycle rack he was climbing on.  He had a huge knot on his head and the nearest restaurant was three blocks away.  Luckily the DART police had an ice chest in their car trunk and we fashioned an ice pack without having to walk a long way and beg.  His head was fine within the hour.

Just another Saturday, full of adventures

Yesterday we went to the State Fair of Texas and had a memorable time.  We rode the TRE train there so we wouldn't have to worry about parking or driving to Dallas.  The Barto family joined us for part of the day and fortunately missed all the drama that the end of the day held.

We started the day without a hitch.  We were almost late to the train, but we made it and each sat comfortably.  Adam mapped out every bit of our train schedule and fair map as well as a schedule of fair shows that we wanted to see.  We started with the African Acrobats.

Then we went to a dog trick show, Jump!

This was followed by the obligatory fried food, a visit to the butter sculpture, and a tour through some booths.  In one booth, a man started questioning one of the Barto's daughters about heaven or hell and Christy intervened with a firm affirmation that "We're United Methodist and she knows exactly what we believe about heaven and hell.  I appreciate what you guys are doing, but she knows what we believe."  I wanted to say "Booyah!" but thought it might be inappropriate.

Then the Bartos went home and we took the kids to the midway.  Paul was so happy he couldn't even keep his eyes open.  (In case you don't recognize him, he's in the rear of this picture.)

Then we saw BMX stunts and enjoyed more expensive fried food.

At the car show, Claire was excitedly going on "errands" to get pamphlets about new cars.  She got plenty for her, Paul, and Paw-Paw.  We saw what looked like a concept car, but turned out to be an advertising stunt.  Basically in this picture, you're seeing a remote controlled airplane shaped like a car.  It was still really cool.

And then we were beat.  Adam said we had to get back to the train station, and then the drama began.

First, we went out the wrong gate.  We were turned around and knew time was ticking.  Adam reoriented us and then we were RUNNING down Fair Park Avenue.  The train came, but apparently you cannot walk on the sidewalks when a train is approaching.  Pedestrian railroad crossing signs blocked the sidewalk, but our train was approaching and we were about to miss it.  Adam swiftly ducked under the crossing bars and pulled the wagon through.  I was panting hard from all that running and just sidestepped the crossing.  At the next crossing bar, Adam ducked again and I didn't see anyway around it, either.  I cursed and bent over as low as I could go.  We were running to catch the train, but a motorcycle policeman barreled up the sidewalk to warn us of the dangers of a train.  Somehow he decided not to give us the $500 ticket we just earned. 

We missed the train, but we were all alive and didn't have a ticket, so we were fine.  We took the next one and arrived at our station.  Unfortunately our next train wouldn't arrive for an hour.  We discussed what to do while the kids played on the bicycle bar.  Paul fell and a huge knot swelled up on his head.  We had to find some ice, but I knew from experience, when you're at the American Airlines Center, the nearest restaurant is a few blocks away.  Luckily some DART police helped us and gave Paul ice from their personal cooler.  So icepack on head, we went back to wait for the train.  Paul's head returned to normal and the kids entertained themselves with playing Red Light Green Light.

It was seven minutes before our train was scheduled to arrive when another train pulled up.  The freight train scared the kids because we had never been so close to a moving train.  Then it stopped.  We were stuck on one side of the freight train and we knew that our TRE train would come on the other side.  People were panicking and climbing on and over the freight train.  We thought that was ridiculous.  One man was spending some time trying to convince his daughter to cross under the train car.  She was mortified and refused to do it.

Adam helped a family across and was about to convince us we needed to climb on the freight train, but all three of us were skeptical and scared.  Then the TRE arrived in the distance.  No matter how long we had to wait at that station, we were not going to climb onto an active freight train and then run in front of a moving passenger train.  Then the freight train started moving and we were all thanking God that we hadn't gotten on it, because we would have been stuck or even killed.  Adam was jumping up and down trying to flag the TRE as the freight train passed.  Luckily they waited for us, and when the freight train rolled away, we were safe, all in one piece, with the TRE waiting patiently for us.

We made it home without injury or ticket.  We were all grateful.