being thankful

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the crap in life because there certainly is some of it. Anybody who reads the paper, listens to the news, or who gets dressed and leaves the house once a day knows it. There are so many things for which to be thankful, though, so my mental exercise this morning as I drink my coffee and watch my fireplace is to think of them.

1. The safety of our friend, Bob, after his terrifying roll-over on an icy road near Alexandria. It took me two days to respond to his email because it was such a frightening story. As he is a good and kind person, he didn't curse the state for not sanding or even nature for sending such road conditions, but he was grateful for the kindness of a stranger and for his health. For all of this, I am thankful.
2. A warm and well-lit house, tiny as it is. Regis and I have lived in this bitty two-bedroom, 1950's style rambler since we married 13 years ago. Most days we are overwhelmingly grateful for it's coziness and lack of storage space. We accumulate enough crap without storage space. What would happen if we suddenly had spare rooms? Our house is warm, covered in Christmas lights this time of year, and a fun place for our friends and family to gather.
3. Our similar temperaments when it comes to things like Christmas buying. We are well-suited to Christmas shopping together because what has evolved is that we don't. We enjoy buying things and doing things with other people but insanely buying Christmas presents is not one of them. Thank God we are both like that. It must be the hippie liberal coming out in us. We should have lived in a commune.
4. My sweet and supportive husband. Over the past two years, Regis has been kicked in the pants by job loss and unemployment. He struggles with it from time to time but for the most part, has picked himself up and gotten an education so he can be employed again. He berates himself at times, for all of this, but I think I got a good deal when I found him. He cares about my welfare almost more than his own. he knows my thoughts sometimes when I am not aware of them myself. I'm not describing a weird alien symbiotic relationship or anything, folks, just a man who loves me and takes care of me. What a treasure.
5. Good flavors in my food. When I had weight loss surgery, I thought I would give up the appreciation for good food. What I gave up was quantity and really bad food. I'm fussier now about what I eat and I love lots of flavor. Yesterday for lunch, I had a half a quesadilla with hot peppers stuffed with Andouille sausage and Mexican melting cheese we had grilled this summer with a cranberry and jalapeno dipping sauce. Oh, my.
6. Words and music. Scan to the right here and down the past month for all the beautiful words. A couple weeks ago we heard a crazy Irish rock band from Minneapolis. Saturday night there is a reggae band playing downtown. We have an iPod loaded with music that plays all evening. No commercials and no political ads and no news. Just music.
7. Exercise. I never thought I would say I enjoy exercise but I do. I look forward to a walk on Sunday when the sun is shining. I like the treadmill at the Pulse. I ran in the Mankato half marathon this fall and it was much harder than I thought it would be much a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Hey, I'm an athlete!
8. The internet. I was in a meeting yesterday where someone was cursing the internet and cell phones. I know there are bad things associated with each but I also remember the days of one telephone in the kitchen. The internet has made it so much easier for us to be connected and I like that. I have an online support group. I have relatives I have never met that communicate regularly on Facebook. I have friends who read my blog to find out what my recent rant is all about and to see pictures of my grand babies. What could be more fun than that?

There you go. Not a bad list at 4:30 a.m.