Day 8 - I Am Thankful for Our Stories

I've always known my dad to be somewhat quiet. He doesn't say much, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot to say. Thanks to e-mail, my dad has become quite a writer. He often will write a story about something he experienced and how it relates to the e-mail conversation. From childhood experiences to being stationed overseas, he seems to have a story for every situation. Last week, he saw my tribute to veterans and wrote a wonderful e-mail about his time in the Air Force. I've gotten e-mails about everything from first loves, first houses and marriage to stupid things he did as an "indestructible teenager." They are always fun and entertaining.

When Derrick and I went to his hometown for the weekend, he got to spend some quality time with his grandpa, who was a WWII veteran. Although there was a highly anticipated football game on, he decided to sit in the kitchen and listen to his grandfather as he told stories about his time in the Navy. Derrick said that really put things into perspective for him. He valued that talk with his grandfather more than any football game.

As I get older, I value those e-mails and chats more and more. My dad's stories and Derrick's grandpa's stories become our stories, too. I'm actually in the process of going back through old e-mails and saving them so I can print them off and compile them. It would be wonderful to have for our children and there children and so on. I will cherish them forever.

What's your story?

Day 7 - I am Thankful It's Friday

I had a super awesome, touching post for today's edition, but I'll save that for another day when I'm in a super awesome, touching mood. For now, I'm just glad it's Friday. Enough said.

Day 6 - I am Thankful for All Who Served

"The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude." ~ Jeff Miller

On this Veterans Day, I salute my dad, my uncles, various family members and the men and women who bravely served our country. Thank you for you all you have done and all you do.

Day 5 - I am Thankful for Getting Lost Every Once in Awhile

Last night, Derrick and I decided to go out for Mexican food (his all-time favorite cuisine). I insisted that we go somewhere we normally eat at, but Derrick was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new.

The first place we decided to try was Don Chilitos. When got to the general vicinity of the restaurant, we couldn't figure out how to get into the parking lot. So there was a lot of pulling in, backing out and driving through dark alleys with vicious-sounding barking dogs. Finally, we parked the furthest away from the restaurant by a creepy dumpster. When we got to the door, we looked inside and noticed it wasn't anything like we were expecting. We typically like to sit down and order our food, but this place had a line you go through like Chipotle and we didn't want to make the effort. Besides, if we wanted that experience, we would have gone to Chipotle across the street. So we got back on the road in search of our new favorite Mexican restaurant.

Derrick decided to use his new nifty Verizon Droid X to find a place to eat. He came up with El Rancho. He used the GPS to guide us to our destination. After about 20 minutes of winding through a dark neighborhood, the voice on the GPS told us our destination was on the right. The only thing that was on the right was a duplex. There were duplexes in the front, on the left and behind us. We were in a subdivision. The GPS lady lost some major cool points with me and further perpetuated the stereotype that women are not good with directions.

As the driver, I was highly frustrated, not to mention extremely hungry. But leave it to Derrick to see the silver lining. When I finally figured out how to get out of the subdivision maze and back onto the main road he said it was kind of fun getting lost. We did have a good laugh about the whole thing and we managed to not argue.

As it turned out, we ended up going to one of our staple Mexican restaurants but I had a great time with my husband in the process, and that, to me, is priceless. I'm sure that won't be the only time we get lost, but at least I know, together, we'll always find our way.

Day 4 - I'm Thankful for Getting Over this Cold

My last couple of thankful days have been more monumental. This one doesn't seem as big, but still is something to be thankful for. I rarely get sick and when I do, I usually bounce back fairly quickly. This cold in particular has been kind of weird. I've had it since October 20. The only reason I know that is because that was the day I had a doctor's appointment and got a flu shot. I was already sniffly and stuffy then and the nurse said the shot would have nothing to do with me getting sick or sicker.

It seemed as though things were clearing up, but I still had some coughing and sniffles the last couple of weeks and then I felt like poo on Sunday after a cold night at the football game. Last night I had a coughing fit as I was going to bed. But it was a dry, heaving cough and that usually lets me know that I'm getting better. It's the kind of cough you have when you take a deep breath and all you can do is cough to exhale. Anyways, I woke up this morning feeling better than have in the last couple of weeks.

So I'm thankful for my health and that makes everything better. I know that it's always a possibility for these things to take a turn for the worse, but I feel like I'm coming out of it. I wonder if that glass or wine (or two) helped last night :)

Day 3 - A Restful Sunday and a Case of Mistaken Identity

I should have posted this yesterday, but as you can see by the title of the post, I was probably resting. It is rare that I get a whole day to do absolutely nothing and go absolutely nowhere. Yesterday was that day and I'm very thankful for it.

Our weekend started off pretty uneventful. We rented a movie, grabbed some dinner and chilled Friday night so we could gear up for the last home K-State football game on Saturday. Saturday was particularly fun because we got to spend most of it in Aggieville with Kyle, Kendra, Krista and Derrick's parents. It was the perfect day for a football game, but it was a long day. By the third quarter, I was exhausted and the cold I had been battling all week seemed to get progressively worse as the temperature dropped.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, we received a disturbing call that Derrick's brother Jared had been in some kind of accident. Of course we all thought it was a car accident, but as it turns out, due to some carelessness, some kind of explosion occurred at a bonfire and burned Jared's face. We had to drive an hour to an ER in Topeka without knowing the extent of the injuries, but just as we were pulling into town, we were told that they were first degree burns and he seemed to be doing okay. Jared was doing just fine. Boy, were we glad to hear that.

We hung out in the ER for about an hour. By this time it was after midnight and everyone was exhausted. Half of us went to grab some food and head back to Kyle and Kendra's. A little after 1 a.m., Derrick and I decided to head home. It would be another hour or so before we got to lay in our own bed and we did gain an hour due to daylight savings so I guess that helped. But I was getting sicker and something Derrick ate didn't seem to sit right in his stomach.

So Sunday came. I had every intention of getting up and going to church Sunday morning. But I had too much gunk in my chest and hardly a voice. Derrick was still not feeling well from the night before so we each settled in for a day of absolutely nothing. It was a great.

Throughout the day, my mom seemed really concerned about Derrick's stomach bug so she wanted to come over later and check on us. I thought it was very unusual for her to want to come over when she just saw us Saturday morning, but I chalked it up to her being a concerned mom. So yesterday evening she stops by and asks to see Derrick in the most pitiful voice. I told her he was in the living room watching the end of the Chiefs game. When she saw him, she asked about his burns. It turns out when I called her the night before to tell her about Jared, she thought I was talking about Derrick. She wanted to come over and see if Derrick was all right. We finally got it straightened out and of course she was glad to hear that Jared was doing okay.

I'm very thankful that Jared is well and will recover. I'm also thankful for a restful Sunday. After all, isn't that what Sundays are for?

Day 2 - Thankful to Have Something to Give

It's hard to part with what we have sometimes, whether it's time, money or possessions. But one thing this exercise is teaching me to do is to be grateful that I have time, money and possessions that I can spare for a good cause.

Each Sunday in church we take a love offering. It is an offering that is used to help those in need. I will admit that I don't always contribute because I want to hold on to that five-dollar bill in my purse. Why? No particular reason. I rarely carry cash and when I do, I want to hang on to it. Now, I'm going to look really vulnerable saying this, but tithing is an even bigger problem for me. It just seems like such a big chunk of money that can help me pay a bill or buy that new pair of shoes I've been eying. The few times this year I have tithed, it was with much trepidation. I felt like I was really going to miss that money. I'm gonna need to work on that.

And each week, my dear pastor reminds us that he isn't forcing anyone to give and he's not mandating an amount to give. Give what you can and if you don't want to, don't, but don't try to stop anyone else from giving. And if you are going to give, give with a cheerful heart. Don't do it because you feel obligated and it's just your weekly routine. He continues to remind us to be thankful that we have something to give at all--that we would prefer to be on the giving end rather than on the receiving end.

Those last few words always strike a chord with me. Um, yes, I would much rather be in a position to give than to receive. Those who are in need probably think the same thing. I am not a wealthy woman, but we really don't lack anything. Sure, there are things we want, but there really isn't anything that we need. I have the means to give a few dollars each week to the love offering without missing it and I certainly should be able to tithe.

Giving isn't always about money either. Last week, the company I work for partnered with United Way for a week of giving. Some people used their baking talents to participate in the bake sale, some pledged to donate a certain amount of money from each paycheck and some donated their time and volunteered at ReStart, an organization that provides food, shelter and other services to the homeless. Just being there and helping where help was needed was a good experience and it really makes you re-evaluate priorities.

So, it's not just about being thankful for what we have, but being thankful for what we have to give. Spread it around.

Less Attitude, More Gratitude - 30 Days of Thanks

Halloween has come and gone and now we are in the full throws of the holiday season. Last week, I did not have the best attitude towards a lot of things, but whenever I look around, I see so many blessings, that there really isn't a reason I should be Mrs. Grumpybottoms. So I have decided to do a month of thanksgiving. Each day, I'll blog about something I'm thankful for. I know this isn't the most original blog project, but hey, being thankful never gets old. Even my nephews already have a spirit of thanksgiving and they are ages three and one. When my sister-in-law asked them what they were thankful for, one answered he was thankful for his toys and the other answered he was thankful for choo choos. Ah, the simple things in life. If everyone could show a little more gratitude and a little less attitude, wouldn't this world be just a tad bit better?

That brings me to day 1 - My In-laws
Of course, I am thankful for the family I was born into. But I am also thankful for the family I married into. Not everyone is lucky to have in-laws they not only get along with, but also love dearly. When Derrick and I had our pre-marriage meeting with my pastor, he mentioned the importance of getting along with the in-laws and how it's not always easy for two families to come together. In-laws can be a bone of contention for many families for many different reasons. Fortunately, I felt loved and accepted immediately after meeting Derrick's family and I hope Derrick felt the same way after meeting mine. More importantly, we'll have the love and support of both sides of our family once we decide to start our own.

Being an only child, I'm so glad I married someone with siblings. At least our child(ren) will have some cousins. Derrick's brother, brother-in-law and sisters feel like my brothers and sisters. I have the same concerns for them as they would for each other. One of my favorite memories is our trip to Minneapolis for his younger sister's high school graduation trip a couple of years ago. It was great getting to know each of them better and they got to know me better as well. I probably laughed the hardest when I heard the story about how Derrick tied up his older sister, Kendra, on top of a bunk bed and pushed her off as he yelled "Kill all the prisoners." Only siblings can share that kind of story.

In the time I've had getting to know his parents, sisters and brothers, I have really enjoyed every minute of it. I am especially thankful that Derrick's family doesn't just recognize me as his wife, but I'm part of the family like everyone else.

So, to my in-laws, thanks for making life so Lunderful!



What are you thankful for today?