Here's my thankful list for today:
1. I finished this behemoth! Yesterday I finished reading this entire, monstrous textbook. While it is full of good ideas, the writing was mostly over my head and frustrating. However, I read it all and am done! Woohoo! (You can all line up to borrow it now.)2. Cooler weather
Fall and spring are my favorite seasons because they are so full of promise and hope. In fall, we hope for a respite from the heat. In spring, we hope for shorts. I love this in between time when the weather could go either way.
3. Kids and school independence
Every day it seems my kids are getting smarter and more independent. I am so grateful for that. They have great teachers at a great school and I'm so proud of them every day.
4. Failure of embarrassment
I haven't been able to embarrass my kids yet. I've tried. Wearing birds, butterflies, and bonnets on my head hasn't worked yet. Paul just laughs and tells his friends I'm a lunatic. Claire just nods and says, "Nope. You have once again failed to embarrass me. Everyone knows my family is crazy." I've got to try harder and I'm grateful for the challenge.
5. Leftovers
6. Hilarious professors
One of my professors has been teaching at Brite Divinity School since the 1970s. That makes it all the funnier when he says things like "Will the real Jesus Christ please stand up?" He's always dropping little pop culture quotes and it always makes me laugh.
My other professor yesterdays confessed that we all love creative tension. He said, "Creative tension sounds so sexy." We all almost fell out of our chairs laughing.
7. Coffee with a hamster and not a dog
One day this week I was drinking my first cup of coffee, trying to read my behemoth of a book and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I got scared, thinking we had a rat. No, it was Paul's hamster, escaped in a jailbreak and coming to the kitchen. I am so grateful he came to me. I am so grateful the dog hadn't woken up yet. I am so grateful we were able to return him safely to his cage and latch it so that doesn't happen again.
8. Friends
For my email pen pals, for my friends at all my school situations, for my church friends, for my ministry friends, for my friends from all different corners of my life, who remind me who I am and who I have been, I am grateful.
9. Waking up skills
My brain is much sharper in the a.m. The ability to wake up early and start functioning immediately has suited me well in grad school. My writing is much better at 5 a.m. when everyone is asleep, rather than at 5 p.m. when everyone is awake and wanting to chat.
10. Kids and pets
We're up to one dog, two hamsters, and one fish around here. The kids bought the hamsters and fish with their own money, and they take care of them all by themselves! They are so proud of their pets and parenting skills, and I am, too. Also, I'm grateful that their allowance money spent on a pet didn't mean more work for me.
