Day 20: A Friend #2

I'm grateful for my friend Karen. We've been friends for close to 20 years now, starting when we were baby lawyers working at Legal Aid together in our 20s. Then there was a five year interlude where both of us moved out of town for a bit, but then we both found our way back to Reno, both with young children in tow. Karen started a playgroup and we were again seeing each other very regularly, and that has continued on for the last decade and through many more changes - one or the other of us back to work for a stretch, more babies arriving, and now both homeschooling. 

Karen is one of these rare people who it's equally satisfying to have a deep heart-to-heart (where you come away feeling very seen and heard), or to have a silly laugh fest or adventure -- and often these things run together. I have so memories lake days, birthday parties, Christmas caroling and trick-or-treating, pumpkin patches, and the list could go on and on. 

I admire how Karen tackles everything she does at 150%. When she's lawyering, she's all in for her clients. If she has a new work idea but the company does not yet exist, she will successfully build it. Now as a homeschool mom, she not only does amazing teaching and care for her own kids, but she runs a fantastic weekly co-op and is always planning and putting together other fun and educational ventures on the side. She is a great gatherer and includer of people and has welcomed so many into her home and the communities she is involved in over the years. She lives life with great gusto and a huge heart, and I feel very lucky to know her and call her a good friend.

Day 19: Health

I am thankful for antibiotics. This one also probably could've gone in the "something you take for granted" category - that it is exceedingly unlikely that I will die this year from any kind of infection that responds to antibiotics. I don't have to worry that much about cuts, bites, or even most bacterial infections. I didn't have to worry that much about post-surgical infections for Josh (and he had many, with metal devices coming of his head right as he was at the handsy stage of late baby / young toddlerhood). All these things were potential killers even for young and healthy people before the discovery of antibiotics. I'm grateful for the way this increased lifespan and decreased suffering. I understand that antibiotic resistance is becoming a problem, and I am grateful that there are smart people working on this problem.

I'm grateful for people who devote their lives to science and medicine, who are right now working towards finding the next big medical breakthrough that will alleviate or eradicate diseases that are plaguing people now.

Day 18: The Weather

 

I am so grateful for the feeling of running in the rain. My first memories of running in the rain are from high school, when during track practice our coach would motivate us to run miles through the freezing rain by saying, "Columbus (a rival high school) isn't running through the rain!", planting the idea that doing a difficult thing would make you a better and stronger competitor. So the first thing I love about it is the idea of facing adversity and running straight into it, head down, with determination. 

Second, and somewhat opposite of that first thought, I love how running through the rain feels like freedom. There's something about rain hitting your face that feels like abandon, like the rules of how things are supposed to be have been removed. It's refreshing and surprising and usually when I get done with running through the rain for a few miles, my face hurts from smiling. Cheers to running in the rain!

Day 17: Something You Take for Granted

 I'm grateful that so far in life, I have not yet had to mourn the loss of someone in my closest circle (such as a parent, sibling, child, partner, or close friend). I do think about this sometimes - when others I know lose someone close to them, when there is a health emergency, when my mind is in an anxiety spiral late at night - but in general, I take for granted that the people I love most are all here. This is uncomfortable to write about and I'm sure it must be uncomfortable / painful for some to read about, but I think at least occasionally acknowledging the reality of death can make me more grateful for what a privilige it is to still have the ability to talk to, hug, buy gifts for, laugh with, have vacations with, experience all the highs and lows of life with, my nearest and dearest.

Day 16: Simple Things in Life

A simple thing in life I'm grateful for is cooking dinner. I'm grateful that we were designed in such a way that we get so much of our health, sustenance, social time, and enjoyment from meals. I'm grateful that cooking can be so many things - a way to zone out and process the day while also being useful; a chance to be bold and creative if you're in that kind of mood, or routine and by the book if you're in that kind of mood; a boredom killer; a memory to do together with your children. I'm grateful for the variety of textures and colors and tastes and the endless ways they can be combined to make a tasty meal. I'm grateful for the smell of simmering onions and garlic. I'm grateful for the provision of a kitchen, cooking utensils, and money to buy groceries week after week. 

Day 15: Things You Like About Spring

I am so thankful for flowers in the spring. I am thankful for the green and the bright pops of color. I'm thankful for the sign of new life, as the plants show they are alive again after the dormant period of winter. I'm thankful for how the world feels so fresh and new and abundant and full of promise in the spring. 

Day 14: A Talent You Have

 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLAh6R4i2jt/?igsh=dHhnd2N0dWxkeGdt

My talent is the same as the person in this link: car singer. What is lacked in excellent singing voice is made up for in passion. I'm thankful for whoever invented car radios, I'm thankful for music, and I'm grateful for the private traveling space of a car to let out some pent-up energy and emotion.