Still Thankful - Nov 5 - *This* view

It was a chaotic morning.  We were late.  We are always late.  The girls are 100% incapable of 'hurry'.  It took a full 15 minutes JUST to put shoes on...and that was after I gave up, sat on the floor and wrestled their feet into shoes myself.
I was not crabby.
No, really!  I wasn't crabby!
But I could feel my anxiety welling up in me.
My breathing was shallow and sharp.
My heart wasn't pounding but instead was fluttering like a hummingbird in my chest.
It was only 9:20 in the morning.  There was a whole lot of day ahead of me and it was jam packed FULL of stuff.
And that it was 9:20 in the morning and I was still stopped at THIS stoplight was NOT good.  I was supposed to be camped out in front of an elementary school hugging my girl goodbye at 9:20 in the morning.
She was definitely going to be late.
No - she was going to be "tardy" as she corrected me with her growing first grade vocabulary.
She was unconcerned but I can't help but look at each digit in the tardy column of her report card as a direct "D" in the parenting category.  At the ripe old age of 6...she can't tell time so even if she is pokey...it's still my responsibility to make sure she's moving on time.  Right?

Then.  I crested the hill and stopped at yet another  stop light.  I looked over my left shoulder and saw this:

This photo absolutely, positively does NOT do justice to the amazingly gorgeous view.  This photo was taken out my van window with my cell phone (don't judge!) and does NOT properly replicate the amazing colors in those trees on the other side of the lake.  And it does not at ALL show you the way that the sun was warming the air at that moment.

I was immediately overtaken with emotion.  A giant grin spread across my face.  My heart slowed and my breathing grew deeper.  The universe had just smacked me upside the head and told me to SLOW THE 'F' DOWN!  And I did.

Still Thankful - Nov 4 - American "Amenities"

So I have a giant black trash can in my garage.  Inside that giant black trash can is a white plastic bag.  Inside of that white plastic bag is something that smells absolutely, positively terrible.  And it has smelled that way...in my garage...for a few days now.  And because that trash bag is inside of that trash can which is inside of my garage which is attached to the rest of my house, that smell has begun to seep into the entry way of my home and occasionally waft up into the living room.  Because we live in a townhome with a rabid association, that trash can cannot be outside of my home except for on trash day.

I'll confess that I cheated a small bit when I rolled it out into the driveway this morning and then left my garage door open for a while to let the good, clean, rainy air in.  My 4 year old was innocently complaining, "Mom - it's smelly in here.  What smells, Mama?  Did you fart, Mama?" while I was putting on her shoes and coat to go to school this morning.

It occurred to me that tomorrow morning, someone in a very large, very smelly, somewhat noisy truck will drive past my house.  They'll slow down, a large mechanical arm will reach out to pick that stinky hunk of plastic up and will drop all of the nastiness into its depths and drive away with it.  I'm not sure that it ever has occurred to me in such plain terms that *this* is a blessing.  *this* is something worthy of feeling thankful.  We live in a time and place where there are people who pick up our trash, take care of our recycling, make certain that we have electricity and running water.  We have paved roads that are free of snow and (mostly) ice.  We have flush toilets and someone to clean and treat that water.

Today, I am thankful for the garbage collectors who will come to my house tomorrow and take away my overflowing, very stinky trash can. . .and they won't even judge me for it (OR ask me if I farted!)

Still Thankful - Nov 3 - A (relatively) healthy family

Today is November 3 and I took the girls to church this morning which is something that I haven't done in a really long time.  We seem to always either be working or be out of town when Sunday morning rolls around.  The girls wind up going to church with Grandma and Grandpa far more often than with me.  That's besides the point...today was the "Novembering" service at Open Door.  It was a quiet, solemn, serious service allowing the members of the church community to take some time to remember those in their family and friendship circles who they have lost over the course of the last year.  I sat quietly thinking about my family both immediate and extended and realized that all in all, we've been pretty blessed over the course of the last year.  Yes, Chris has/had Lymes' Disease (or "The Lymes" as we prefer to refer to it) which knocked him on his keister for quite a while.  And yes, his Dad has had a health scare this fall (but all reports indicate that he is now essentially healthy as a horse).  But we're all healthy.  I recognize that we might be a little out of the ordinary. When Chris was diagnosed with Lymes, we both kinda shrugged our shoulders and blew it off.  Yes, we researched and got him the best treatment that we could find but it certainly wasn't a death sentence and, in the grand scheme of things - really not such a big deal.  I had a couple of people ask us in quiet tones if there was anything they could do to help which threw me for a loop for a moment.  Then we talked about it and realized that it is entirely possible that our definition of "health scare" is a little bit skewed from the average.  In a way, that is a blessing as well.  

We didn't really lose anyone this year and in fact, we have two new babies in the family (welcome Dani & Nathan) to celebrate and be so very excited about!

The girls both have the sniffles that come along with the petri dish that is the public school system.  Chris' Lymes has taken a backseat to his exceedingly busy fall schedule.  And I feel great.  We are truly blessed and I am truly thankful!

Still Thankful - Nov 2 - Long Hard Days as a Single Parent

Nov 2 - Chris left for a show in Austin early this morning - before the girls woke up.  This means it's just me and the ladies until Wednesday.  We're pretty accustomed to this and we do very well together as a rule.  We have our routines and Chris and I have taken turns being on the road on a regular basis since the kids were babies so they don't know any different and it doesn't seem to warp their worlds in the least.  We're pretty proud of their resiliency in this respect.  I would be lying if I called today a bad day and I'm stretching the truth a titch to even call it a "hard" day...but it was definitely long!  We spent the entire day together - in the same room - usually within arms' reach of one another.  It is a beautiful blessing - it is also occasionally suffocating!  Days like today - and tomorrow - and the next day - help me to remember what an absolute blessing it is that I am only a "sometimes" single parent...which is nothing at all like being an ACTUAL single parent.  I am thankful that I not only have a partner in this parenting adventure but a willing, able, strong, determined, fun and COMMITTED partner!  I am thankful that I have long days like today to remind me of the blessing that my co-parent partner truly is!

I love that when Daddy is away - B takes over storytime responsibilities!
Few things make me happier than listening to B read to her little sister.
(and - I've tried 5 different times to rotate this photo...no clue why it doesn't want to go!  Sorry!)

Still Thankful - Nov 1 - Children who March to their own drum

I haven't written here in a very, very long time.  Almost a year to be precise.  And I've missed it.  I've wanted to write - I've missed writing - but a little bit of time went by.  And then a little bit more.  And in no time at all, a TON of time had gone by and I felt like my first post "back" had to be EPIC or what was the point?  And I just didn't have anything EPIC to write.

But it's November again.  And last year, I used the month of November to post an item every day that I was very thankful for.  And I loved it.  It made me recognize all of the beauty and the wonder and the amazing gifts in my every day life.  I've decided to use my "thankful in November" posts as my way back in.  I'm rusty.  Forgive me for that.  In no particular order of importance...and without any further ado....

Nov 1 - So Thankful ... that my children are growing up with such independent little minds.  They march to the beat of their own drum.  Last night was Halloween.  We took the girls trick-or-treating, of course.  It's Minnesota and it was cold.  Trick or Treating was a very short-lived bit of fun but a bit of fun nonetheless. We let the girls choose their own Halloween costumes every year.  And even though I KNOW they are only going to wear the costumes for 30 minutes...I put a ridiculous amount of time into designing and making them each year.  It costs me twice as much and takes up hours and hours but it makes me very happy and very, very proud.  And everyone needs to feel a bit of pride now and again.

So I asked the girls what they wanted to be for Halloween this year.  We tried very hard not to sway them in any way.  They could pick ANYTHING they wanted to be - the only requirement being that they had to make the decisions 4-6 weeks out and they couldn't change their mind because I had work to do!  E wanted to be a "Golden Princess" with a "Golden Wand" and a veil.  She picked out the fabric including the lining for the giant sleeves.  Doesn't she have a wicked great eye for fabrics?  I was shocked that she didn't want to be Cinderella, or Belle, or Ariel or one of the many, many Disney Princesses that float around our toy room.  (so shocked...I actually picked up patterns for several of the Disney Ladies' costumes when they were on sale because I was CONVINCED that's what she was going to want)  But she didn't waiver a bit and proudly announced to everyone she met for weeks that she was going to be a "Golden Princess".

And the big girl?  Well B's obsession with Star Wars continues.  I fully expected a Star Wars themed costume from her but I suspected she'd want to be a Jedi or Princess Leia.  I'm still surprised that she chose and stuck with Darth Vader.  And let me tell you - there are no patterns out there for Darth Vader costumes. What I came up with was pure invention - and thank goodness for Google Images!  We bought her a fantastic Vader mask that said phrases in his spooky, breathy voice when she pushed a button.  And I LOVED the look on peoples' faces when a little girl's voice came from behind that mask to say "Trick or Treat"!

I am so thankful that our girls feel secure enough to be whatever they want to be. I know they are only 6 & 4 but they could easily be sucked into other peoples' expectations already at these ripe ages and I'm very grateful that we have avoided those traps so far.  I know the day will come when they become conscious of what "everyone else is doing" - for now I'm just glad that they can be the strong and lovely and unique little ladies that they are!