Five Things on Friday - Thankful Edition Part 1

So, I know I'm early and all, but here's the story:

Last night, we had some stuff, you know, stuff, like Brynna's cheerleading awards ceremony that started 45 minutes late and we had to eat dinner and stuff. The kids were tired and, as Maren says, "whiney hinies." They were bickering and complaining and generally being a pain in my hiney. My hiney does not like that, and so, I opened my mouth to start my usual dressing down about being kind and respectful and using your words wisely and carefully and then, instead, brilliance came out. Because sometimes I'm smarter than I give myself credit for.*

"Okay, here's the deal," I started. "You guys have been complaining about not having ketchup and who's hairbow that is, and I'm not sure you realize how ridiculous those concerns really are. So, beginning now, we are going to spend the rest of this car ride home, listing things for which we are thankful. I will start and we'll go around and no one gets a by, everybody goes and we'll list all the reasons we have not to whine about silly things."

"I'm thankful for the zombie book in my purse that I'm dying to read as soon as we get home.**"

And, just like that, the kids stopped whining and started listing things. When Maren would say things, like, "I'm thankful for signs," Brynna would giggle and she and I would try and explain why we should all be thankful for signs. At one point, there was whining about whose turn it was, but I just pulled the car over and calmly explained that we would just sit there until they started coming up with blessings again.

Sometimes, I rock.

I'm not sure they learned the bigger lesson I was trying to impart: that we have so much for which to be grateful, that there's no room for being upset about hairclips and ketchup. But, I did travel home in peace and harmony - so there's that at least.

And it got me thinking about my thankfulness. I am thankful for all the big things: my house, my family, my friends, food to eat, air to breathe, a job that pays me, etc, etc. But I'm also thankful for some little things and I thought I would share a few, beginning today and continuing through the rest of the Fridays in November.

Five Things For Which I am Thankful Part 1


1. The Internet - I used to think that I was born at the wrong moment in history. I believed that I should have been a child of the 60's. And I will tell you that Haight-Ashbury and Janis and Woodstock still call to me with their hippy voices. But, now I understand why I was chosen for this moment in history. The Internet. I love the Internet. From Pinterest to online shopping, from xkcd to The Bloggess. From the ability to find any song you ever heard based on the three words you remember to sites that help you make your own laundry detergent - I love the Internet.

2. Children's TV - I am thankful for the bright colors, hip music and inane story lines that keep my kids occupied for a few moments every day while I do something productive (or sit on the couch and think about the productive things I could be doing).

3. Silence - I have always been a person who couldn't concentrate in silence. I need the radio, TV or other noise making distraction to keep me focused. I don't know why and I understand that it's counter-intuitive. But that's me. Counter-intuitive. However, since having children, I have come to truly appreciate the joy of a completely silent house. When the kids are in bed and the lights and TV are out and I can bask in nothing but resounding silence. Until a train goes by. Or a cat knocks something over. Because I am also thankful, quite often, for a lack of silence.

4. Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires and Demons - How much less interesting would the world truly be without the stories of the living dead, animalistic, undead and possessed. Or it that just me? I am also thankful that I live in the time of rampant publishing and cable TV so that things like Feed and The Walking Dead can enter my world.

5. Yarn - When I think about the things that I truly love to do, the things that make me happy and feel contented with the world, crochet is right up there and it's so much happier with a wide of array of stuff to make. Thanks to Ravelry and Pinterest, patterns are no problem and thanks to online retailers, yarn is just a click away. Oh, yarn. How I love thee.

What about you? What silly little things are you giving thanks for this year?

*Mostly, I'm not as smart as I give myself credit for, because despite whatever other faults I believe myself to have, I think I'm pretty darn smart.


**Feed by Mira Grant. I am absolutely loving it, but I'm still not finished. It's the beginning of a series and I'm gonna be so hooked. Thank you so much to my friend, Sage, who sent this book when I needed it most. Not just because it was a zombie novel, but because I had forgotten that I do have friends who like the same, weird stuff as me.