Day 30: About Your Children

 

What a sweet way to end this month of thankfuls! 

I am thankful for Josh's sense of humor. He has a very dry and sarcastic wit, like his dad, and he's using it more and more to riff in conversations and come up with alternative names for me. He always joins in on a laugh, loves funny movies, is a big time fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and sometimes will even laugh in his sleep. I'm grateful for how this shows the fun and joy in his personality.

I am thankful for Zoey's creativity and intellect as expressed through her writing. Like her mom, Zoey tends to be on the quieter side in social situations, and so people are often blown away by how much is going on in her mind when she has the chance to express it through writing - whether that is a poem for nature group, a letter to a friend or family member, a Power Point for school, or a short story composed for fun. Zoey has a great way with words and I'm grateful that has been an effective way for her to use her voice.

I am thankful for Ivy's competitive spirit. I'm thankful for how it leads her to come up with clever trades and use persuasive tactics in Catan; for how it helps her be brave and persevering in gymnastics; and for the look she gets her in eye when she's about to race anyone. I'm thankful for the juxtaposition of this competitiveness with her very sweet and kind nature, and look forward to seeing how these qualities mesh as she grows older.

Finally, I am thankful for these three as a group - I'm thankful for their sibling bond and I hope they continue to be close friends and supporters of each other as they grow into adulthood. I'm thankful that they have each other through the ups and downs of life and I'm thankful for the way that siblings can potentially be lifelong friends.

Day 29: About Your Pet

I didn't plan ahead very well on this one, as I've already written about our dog Bear earlier this month. So instead, I'm going to write a post of gratitude for how many animals my parents were willing to let us take on growing up. We always had one or two dogs, one of which was always a miniature schnauzer. Like pugs, these dogs are very loyal companions and good cuddle buddies. We often had a bird and sometimes had fish. And for a stretch of a year or two, we had had hamsters. (Shout out to my mom for letting this continue even as the hamster would escape it's cage and end up crawling around in their bed.)

I think pets are wonderful for kids. They provide companionship, teach responsibility and some of the early lessons about life and death, and supply some hilarious moments and favorite memories. I'm grateful to my parents for being such good sports in this realm. 

Day 28: About your Community

I am grateful for our homeschool community. One thing I was really unsure about in starting the homeschool journey was the question of socialization / friendship. I knew our kids would have each other, and that they would see cousins, teammates, and church friends - but that's not exactly the same as knowing a whole community of families who are going down the same educational path. Thankfully, over our four years of homeschooling (and thanks in large part to two wonderful moms who are always organizing and leading new ventures), we have been able to form that community. We've joined other homeschoolers for nature group, art group, Shakespeare group, and literary society; we've participated in field trips, park days, and back yard hang-outs; and we've been lucky to make some really good friends. I'm thankful to the families who are our homeschool besties. 

Day 27: About your Job

The main thing I'm grateful for about my job is the kids I get to form relationships with and the chance to try to guide their case towards the best possible outcome; additionally, I'm grateful for this, this, this, and this. 

But one not insignificant thing I don't think I've written about before is that I'm grateful for the work-life balance provided by this job. It helps that I'm part time (which is both a blessing and a curse, something I'll write about at a future time), but one of the huge huge benefits of non-profit legal work is that you can have a real, full caseload, makes a real life difference practice that is also usually contained to Monday through Friday 8-5 (and for me, about half of that contained within those hours). It's not never that I have to work nights and weekends, but it's exceedingly rare and it's usually because I've used the regular work hours towards something other than work. My job is an important part of my life, but it's not my whole life - and that's not the case for all lawyers. I'm grateful to be able to do the work I do and still have a meaningful amount of hours off the clock. 

Day 26: Who In Your Life

 

I am grateful for my sister. I'm super grateful for who she is as a person, but for today, I want to focus on the specialness of the sibling / sister relationship in general. I am grateful for the almost entire lifetime of shared history we have - shared family past, shared secret jokes, shared moves, shared clothes; shared family / life stages, shared faith, shared interests in reading, shared things we find hilarious. There is a way she understands me and I understand her that no one else will be able to ever touch, which is such a special thing. I'm so grateful to have a sister, to have THIS sister.

Day 25: About Nature

 

I am grateful for clouds. I am grateful for how much drama they bring into a moment. I'm grateful for how you can imagine shapes into puffy cumulus clouds. I'm grateful for the reminder of God's power in a huge wall cloud moving over the Midwest prairie. On road trips, my kids will sometimes try to give the sky Myers-Briggs personality types, and I'm grateful that clouds give the sky so much personality that this is a plausible game. 

Day 24: Challenge

This has been a year of many challenges, one serious thing after another, and if I'm being perfectly honest I can't say I'm grateful for any of the challenges. I thought about writing something along the lines of "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger", and it will be wonderful if that turns out to be a result ten years down the road, but that's not where I'm at today. There are two things I can honestly say I'm grateful for right at this moment: 1) When you get through a thing you think you could not survive and you do, that is knowledge to take forward when the next scary thing comes along. 2) It's been a year of chances to see that God's mercies are new every morning; to grow dependence on God and understanding that He is the only sure and steady anchor for my soul; and to take the grip of control I try to keep on my life and try to give it more and more over to God. To the extent that all the things in that second category take hold, I am immensely grateful for that.

Day 23: Smell

 I am grateful for the ways smells can trigger memories and feelings. Both generally and very specifically. Baking chocolate chip cookies remind me of safety, warmth, home, and childhood. A particular perfume smell reminds me of my Grandma Eileen. The smell of campfire smoke brings memories of happy times singing, roasting S'mores, and hanging out around the campfire. A fish / ocean smell reminds me of the Oregon beach. I am also grateful for a book I read this summer - Jitterbug Perfume - that celebrates all things related to the olfactory sense. 

Day 22: About Your Parents

 

I am grateful for so many things about my parents. For my mom, I'm grateful for how she role modeled so many things for me: how to earn an education and work a career that you're proud of while also being an involved mother of multiple kids; how to take care of yourself by eating healthy, exercising, reading lots of books, and regularly tending to your faith life; how to laugh; and how to treat people with kindness. For my dad, I'm grateful for how he taught us the fundamentals of so many sports, he taught me to care about the details and to finish strong, and he also role modeled how to balance being involved with your family while managing a demanding career, and how to live a life of strong faith. For both of my parents, I'm grateful that they have always been there for us and always encouraged us; always treated us fairly and kindly; that they both continue to be among the very most important relationships in my life; have shown what a long and happy marriage looks like; and have always loved us so well. I am so grateful for my parents.

Day 21: About your Partner

 

Kenny and I celebrated our 20 year wedding anniversary this May, so this year I am grateful for our long shared history. I am grateful that we have this rich bank of memories, starting from our first dates and continuing on through engagement and wedding, first law jobs, having children, and moving around the country. We have weathered many hospitalizations, enjoyed many vacations, and learned together how to parent toddlers and now teenagers. There are so many memories that live in both of our heads but that no one else (except, often, the kids) also shares. It's an amazing thing, to build that kind of treasure trove of memories together, and I'm grateful for it.

Day 20: About Your Body

Something I am grateful for about the human body is its ability to strengthen in both body and mind. I am grateful that if I get completely out of shape, whether that means lack of strength or cardio or fueling / sleeping correctly, it is possible to just start putting in the work again and the body has the capacity to build and get better. I am grateful that the mind works similarly - that by giving it challenge, purpose, and better neural pathways rather than worse ones, the mind is also able to get higher performing and more into ruts that work for you and not against you. One of the reasons I do these gratitude series on my blog is to try to build up my brain's capacity towards positive thinking. I'm grateful that these bodies we live in are receptive to input and capable of positive change. 

Day 19: Technology

 

I am grateful for the technology that goes into epic movies like The Odyssey. It's amazing how much filmmakers can now make you feel like you're really there with the giant Cyclopse or the Sirens or next to the Trojan Horse. It helps you be fully immersed in the story. I'm thankful to see this example of technology working to enhance the work of super talented human artists of the past (Homer) and present (everyone in this cast and crew), rather than technology replacing great human artists.

Day 18: Colors

 I am grateful for the colors of my schools. First, for my high school colors, black and gold. I wore these for volleyball, basketball, and track; sang songs and cheered cheers that included these colors; and still get a rush of dopamine when I hear a reference to black and gold. 

Next, I'm grateful for my college colors, red and brown. I remember considering these a negative in choosing which college to attend (it didn't help that my younger brother frequently reminded me that brown is the color of poop). But again, you wear these colors as an athlete and make all these memories alongside your teammates ranging from exhausting workouts to long hours on the bus to thrilling moments at track meets - and all of a sudden, you feel great love and loyalty for these colors.

 Finally, I'm grateful for my college colors of blue and white. I only wore these colors as a fan, but this is a school where being a fan is a bit like being on a team. You have to campout to get tickets to men's basketball games. You learn the players, the cheers, the traditions. You learn that royal blue is the best, while UNC sky blue is the worst. 

I'm grateful for all the memories associated with these colors and for the fun that can go along with an education.

Day 17: Sights

 

I'm grateful for pink skies. What a thing, that so many mornings and so many evenings we can look into the sky and view, free of charge, the best piece of art you could possibly imagine. Painted across a canvas the size of the horizon, only existing for a few minutes, giving you twice daily chances to feel wonder and awe just by looking up.

Day 16: About Your Life

 

I am grateful that my life has afforded me the opportunity to live in different regions of the United States. I spent my first 18 years, plus several summers and one bonus year, living in the Midwest. I had 3 different spurts, totaling 11 years, living on the East Coast. And then I have lived in the Mountain West for around 15 years. 

I'm grateful to have experienced particular things in each region. In the Midwest, I'm grateful for the wide open plains, the way communities come together and support each other, and the slower pace of life. On the East Coast, I'm grateful for all the trees!!, the thicker sense of history, the culture found in museums and restaurants and shops that come with the bulk of population being located back East, and the bolder and brasher way people relate to each other. In the mountain west, I love the beautiful mountains, the laid back west coast vibe, and the appreciation of individuality and freedom. I'm grateful to see the enormous geographic and sociological diversity that exists within the United States. 

And even with the significant differences among region, I'm also grateful to see some of the things that are common across all the regions. There is of course McDonalds and Starbucks everywhere you go, but there are also parks and libraries and churches; there is generally a chance at economic prosperity and a safety net for the most vulnerable; and a government that helps administer life and keep us safe while also allowing us to keep our fundamental freedoms.

Day 15: Friend or Companion

 Today I am thankful for our dog, Bear. I am thankful for the personality of pugs: their playfulness, their surprising strength and athleticism that comes out in brief flashes, and (definitely the defining feature of a pug) their love and loyalty expressed through clinginess. I'm grateful for dogs in general and what wonderful companions they make - a comforter on hard days and a playmate / walkmate on good days. The steadiest of companions who is always there and never says the wrong thing. Here's to dogs!

Day 14: Relative

 Today I'm grateful for the feeling when the whole family gets together. (We were actually missing one brother and his wife, but most of us were together.) I'm grateful to see the interactions between cousins, between grand parents and grand-children, and between adults siblings. I'm grateful for old traditions carried on and new ones formed, for lots of laughs and memories made. And today I'm also grateful for the cause of our get together, which is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I'm grateful to live in Anerica and for the values put forth in the Preamble to the Constitution.

Day 13: Place

The place I'm thankful for today is the airport. I'm grateful that air travel makes it possible to get across the country and even around the world in such a compact amount of time. I'm grateful that arriving at the airport signals excitement and anticipation - going on an adventure, seeing a favorite spot or favorite people. I'm grateful also for the positive feelings upon returning home.  There's lots that can be challenging about air travel these days, so it's good to also remember what a mind boggling wonder of technology and what a fantastic portal of connection and experiences it can be.

Day 12: Tradition

 

I am thankful for our family tradition of restaurant food on Friday nights. It's a nice way to give parents a break and give everyone a treat all at once. It's a fun way to start the weekend and it gives one less thing to think about as you wrap up the work week. And for most of the life of this tradition (which we've held for several years), it's been a good way for our family to get some quality family time, although the way it has worked out this past year has been a little different. Due to sports schedules, the restaurant food has been a standing order of pizza and chicken tenders, picked up at 3:30 from Pizza Plus so that everyone can have at least a little dinner before heading back out. The sports schedule recently changed to give us back our Friday evenings, so I'm grateful that we'll be able to go back to a more normal eating time, get a little variety in the restaurant food, and eat together as a family.

Day 11: Season

 

I am grateful for summer in this stage of life because it provides rest and a break on the same every day routine.

It's restful because we take a break from homeschool for a couple months. The kids and I both appreciate the slower mornings, the absence of workbooks, and the freedom that opens up to do other things or to do nothing at all. 

It breaks up same every day because of all the unique-to-summer events that happen. VBS, day camps (and new this year, one kid going to overnight camp), Art Town, vacations. As well as the seasonal things that we've always loved - pulling out the kayak and paddleboard for lake days; going to the pool; watermelon and corn on the cob at summer barbecues. And the always fun, likely bigger and better than ever celebrating 250, 4th of July. Cheers to summer!