Gratitude Journal #31

Two full weeks of two book covers a day and not a single gratitude post to break it up. What is going on here?

Last weekend was the end of my vacation. My vacation was really kind of like 3 mini-vacations. The first part had me here at home hanging out with our friend who was visiting from Sweden (though I did go into work one morning). The second had me driving up the coast for a couple of days just hanging out with my mother. And the third saw me driving across the state on Saturday night in order to go to a small county fair on Sunday morning and see the pig Pop Tart had raised for 4-H. At the time I would normally be posting my gratitude journal on Sunday night, I was somewhere in the middle of my six hour drive home.

And sure, normally that would have meant I took a few minutes break at work on Monday morning and got a gratitude journal post written, but this last week was back to work with a vengeance. Not only was I coming back to a week’s worth of emails in my inbox, it was also the official fiscal start of the academic quarter at work, and I was just swamped with making sure everyone was in the system so that they would be paid correctly. I had almost no down time at work all week. And certainly none on Monday.

So the gratitude journal waited a week. And I am okay with that. So what have I been grateful for over the past two weeks?

Gratitude Entry #72 – Paid vacation time
This is one of those things I do not want to take for granted. I am lucky enough that I have been working in jobs that have given me paid vacation for the last 20 years, but not everyone gets that. And even if everyone did (and I do think everyone should), it is still something worth being grateful for. Even if my vacation was pretty hectic, the fact that I had a chance to get away from work for most of a week and just do what I wanted with my family and friends and can then come back without worrying about my job or my next paycheck being a week short matters. It matters for my mental health, which means it matters for my physical health.

Gratitude Entry #73 – Moonrise
I took no pictures because I was driving, but driving eastward last Saturday night and watching the full moon rise was gorgeous. The cloud cover made it look like there was a fire in the sky for part of the drive. It was amazing, and the only thing about it I was not grateful for was that I did not have anyone with me to share it. But the simple beauty of the moon rising in the sky in the evenings is one of my favorite things.

Gratitude Entry #74 – Grocery Stores
We did no shopping last weekend because of my hectic schedule. That meant by this Friday, the cupboards were pretty bare. But Friday after work, we were able to go shopping and get everything we needed.
This is one of those things that I started this post specifically to remind myself to be grateful for (like people who are at work when I am not). I realize that grocers have been around for pretty much ever, and the modern grocery store for my entire life. And still, I think it is worth being grateful that I can go to one place and buy the food my family needs to eat. I can buy in large quantities or small. I can get fruit even in winter. I have a choice of proteins. Pretty much everything I need in one place.
Grocery stores are one of the marvelous modern conveniences, and I, for one, am grateful for how simple they make my life.

Gratitude Entry #75 – Junk removal
Like movers, this is something I am so happy exists, and I am willing to pay for. While our friend was here, he had his last POD of stored stuff brought to our house, and we emptied it. We kept what he/we wanted and donated what we could, but there were still a couple of items left. These were big items that we would not have been able to fit in our car to take to donate (even if anyplace took king sized mattresses for donation, which they do not) or dispose of on our own. And doing that would have meant, well, doing it on our own, including the work of lifting and carrying the stuff.
Instead, we made an appointment for pickup with a junk removal company. Two young men came and loaded the stuff on their truck. They talked to us about how the company would be recycling it. It is now gone from my house, and I did not throw out my back in the process. Grateful.

Bonus gratitude entry – Lazy, rainy days on the couch with curled up puppies, blankets, and bad TV
This is how I spent today. I thought about taking a picture of Larry curled up on my lap at one point, but I would have had to move in such a way that I might have disturbed him. But after a busy vacation week, a hectic return to the office, and with another crazy week coming up (students return to campus this coming week), what I needed most was a day where I did almost nothing. Writing this post is the most intellectual and physical energy I have had to expend all day. And I needed that.