Sigh. You can track my blog posts because they perfectly align with the rare times when I manage to get the house in some semblance of order, get the baby to her nap, and the pre-schooler to her nursery school. I have an hour or so completely to myself. Guilt free--even better.
So November is when everyone on Facebook lists all the things they're thankful for, one for each day of the month. Some of them seem a little braggy to me (my issue, not their's). A blog post seems to be a slightly better place to write some things that I'm thankful for. So here are some of them.
1. The night sky. Have you looked at it recently? Because it's beautiful. And also, it's a pretty stark reminder of how painfully small we are. Like incomprehensibly small. I always have this profound realization when I'm flying in an airplane and see how small everything looks just from up there. But when you consider the night sky and how teeny tiny the earth is compared to the universe....well, it's certainly very humbling. But also a huge relief. In the grand scheme of human life, I don't matter all that much. I'm not trying to be self-disparaging. It's just that no one single life is all that big of a deal. And for some reason that kind of takes the pressure off. There's some part of me that believes that I have to do something really important with my life. But look at the sky and you realize no one person is capable of all that much. So calm down already.
2. Coffee. I. Just. Love. Coffee. It defies words.
3. Winter. I would never have called myself a winter person until I moved to Georgia. But when it comes around, it like adds new breath to my life. I feel like a part of me wakes up that was dead the rest of the year. Chuck calls me a cold lizard because the heat of summer makes me sluggish and tired, but once it cools off outside, I get about twice as much energy and a little hop in my step. Also, fall/winter clothes are the best. Cable knit sweaters? Corduroy? Scarves? Mittens? Snuggly blankets? These are what heaven is made of.
4. Not traveling. This one is the opposite of what I'd usually say. But have you been travelling with a baby recently? Because if you think its a good idea, it must be that you haven't done it recently or possibly ever. Cora is a great baby. But even so, travelling with her, especially nine hours in the car over two days alone (with Ivy) is simply not fun. We got to travel to STL to see my grandma before she passed away. And it was the kind of blessing you can't put into words. But the traveling we had to do to achieve that awesome trip was nothing short of a miracle. I can't overstate how glad I am that Chuck and I decided to stay put for the holidays. I'm gonna miss the family, but next year will be much easier and more enjoyable for everyone! :)
5. Said family, for letting us stay in Nashville with them overnight so I wouldn't have to drive nine hours straight.
6. Books. I don't know how this happened, but I've read 18 books so far this year. That's probably a record for me. And the great thing about living in the twenty first century is that I will never get to the end of the list of books that I can read. There are SO many books out there and publishing technology is such that I have access to pretty much anything I want. I usually limit myself to what I can get for free at the library. But still. That collection alone could keep me going forever.
Well, Cora has decreed naptime to be over early. And when the Baby has spoken, the Baby has spoken. It was fun while it lasted! :)
