Thankful Thursday: The Big Chill

Yes, it is. It is -5 on the thermometer outside the kitchen window this morning. The windchill is in the negative teens range. I was feeling pretty sad with that until I watched the news and saw how cold it is in the Midwest. Now I'm pretty thankful for  -5.

Speaking of thankful....

It's time to link up with Rebecca Jo @ Knit By God's Hand for Thankful Thursday. It's a chance to brag on our God and all he's blessed us with this week. Gratitude is a good thing. Focusing on the good things helps our minds be more positive and makes us happier. There have been studies that prove it. I love it when science proves what the Bible has been telling us all along. Anyway, please visit Rebecca Jo to read her list, find links to other lists, and join in with us if you want to.

This week I am thankful...

* not to have to get up early to brave the cold and start a school bus. Yep, days like this remind me that while no job is perfect, leaving the school bus behind was definitely the right move.

* that we've reached the end of January and I haven't yet caught any of the bugs that have been going around. I have become almost obsessive about handwashing and sanitizing at work and that's carried over to the rest of life, too. The skin on my hands is rough, red, and on the verge of cracking in spite of using loads of lotion, but I'll deal with it to avoid being sick.

* that I don't think I did anything horribly wrong at work this week since the state is there all week for inspections. They are watching every little thing. I guess they told our head honcho that there aren't any big things wrong so far, but my boss said she has a feeling that today they are going to find fault with everything and drop a big bomb. I guess they are good for doing that. I don't know. I'm just glad that when they observed me in the dementia unit I don't think I made any big mistakes and since I'm probably washing and sanitizing my hands more than I need to anyway, I should be good on that. I think the bigger issues are going to be nursing issues and safety....one of the dementia residents fell while state was observing (I was out of the unit on my lunch break).

* I finally got to go to Bible study this week! It had been over a month since I was last with everyone. It was so good to see them and a real boon to my spirit to be with my special group of believers.

* my daughter's doctors are finally taking her complaints of anxiety and depression seriously and referring her to a counselor who specializes in working with pregnant women. I hope she continues through the post-partum period, too, since she had some pretty bad post-partum depression with her first pregnancy.

* that I don't have anxiety. I can't get over how many people I meet these days who are struggling with it. I suppose it's our world, because I don't remember there being so many fretful, nervous people when I was younger. I can't imagine having to live with that much worry and insecurity.

* for a fun weekend with my husband. He came home a little early from work on Saturday so he could take a nap, because our youngest grandson spent the night. Pappy had promised him a camp out on the living room floor. He's such a funny little guy and we enjoyed having him here. Then Sunday we did our usual Walmart run for groceries for the week's lunches and we decided to stop by the local meat market and stocked up on all kinds of yummy things. There wasn't any stress or fussing and it was just a nice time together.

* our older two grandchildren are back in school this week. Our granddaughter had been going to a charter school after being homeschooled, but something happened early in the fall and her parents pulled her out. The younger one hadn't started official school yet, so we're glad they both began cyber school. The younger one will continue with it indefinitely, but our granddaughter is very creative and artsy and is in the process of applying to the school for the arts. If accepted she'd begin in two years.

* for sunshine. Even though it's bitter cold out there, the sun is shining! What a gift! We so rarely see bright sunshine here, even in the summer. It wasn't always this way, but climate change (?) has made us cloudy. We have more cloudy days than Seattle who has always had that as a claim to "fame."

* all of you, of course!

I am off to get ready for work. Have a blessed and thankful Thursday! Stay warm and safe.