How easy it is for us (well, me) to complain! Last weekend we got 4-and-a-half glorious inches of much-needed rain. After it had come down in buckets for 2 straight days, our poor dry creek finally started running again. You would think that I would be thankful (and I was, for a couple of days, there) but yesterday, the hubs was looking at the week's weather forecast (we need to know how to dress for campus!) and the next few days are "70's and sunny", to which my reply was, "Oh, brother." We actually do need quite a bit more rain. But hubs responded, "You cannot actually be complaining about that!" (he said it in a very kind way), which made me think. It seems to me like the weather, and maybe the president (whoever it may be) are two things that half the general population is always complaining about. So I have decided to play a game called "What Can I Be Thankful For Right Now?"1. As I type this, I am sitting on the back deck with my son (who is doing his American History homework), one cat, one dog, and two chickens, in the sun, and we are listening to an A's-Dodgers game on the computer.
2. I got to spend 4 days last week in Temecula with other Cru moms and wives from our region, including my friends Melissa (we were randomly placed in the same freshman Bible study in college and our kids call each other 'cousin'), Vivian (she came on staff with me and Melissa in 1989 and recently survived breast cancer and wrote a book about it called Warrior In Pink), and Jill (she came on staff with Jamey just before me and was on my team for years in Irvine, and we run together at many conferences).
3. My 'to-do' list for the next day-and-a-half includes the following: go to a golf match (we are watching Jason's friend Beanie - that's a nickname I gave him in the third grade and he still lets me call him that), go to a tennis match (Grace's boyfriend Devin plays for Cal Poly), and go out for lunch at my favorite deli with a coworker.
4. On Saturday, Jason took Max-the-Dog down to the creek for one of his favorite dog activities: retrieving rocks by sticking his entire head under water.
5. There are hyacinths blooming in my front yard.
7. We made it through our third soccer season in a row without having to sit through a downpour. This is incredible for a winter sport!
8. Did I mention it's baseball season? I just switched my ring tone from the Monday Night Football theme to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". This makes me happy.
9. Saturday night our students showed a video that they made as a tribute to Jamey - I will attempt to post it here on this blog for your enjoyment. It's a parody of a very horrible song called "What Does The Fox Say?" in case you wondered.
10. In a week, I get to celebrate St Patricks Day by having our whole staff team over for a real Irish dinner and speak in my best Irish brogue for the whole evening. This is one of my favorite days of the year.
This is proof that if you look hard enough (and it usually isn't very hard), there is plenty to be thankful for at all times.
