Thankful

Somedays we forget, 

To look around us.  

Somedays we can't see,  

The joy that surrounds us.  

So caught up inside ourselves,  

We take when we should give…  

Thirty days hath November. It’s soon to be Thanksgiving. Then shortly after that, it will be Christmas. The stores have had Christmas decorations out since October. It’s become a hurry up world.

The beginning of November is when it’s really fall to me. Then the leaves are gone. The wind blows and it’s winter. Not officially of course, but winter, never the less. November is the beginning of the holidays. It’s the time when family gets together. This is the month my dad was born. This is the month my dear cousin passed away. It’s a birthday month for some close friends. It’s a month of beginnings. It’s a month of endings. But mostly, when I think of November I think of it as the month for being thankful.

I feel sorry for myself sometimes and sometime even wish I was somewhere, someone, else. But I have a lot to bet thankful for. And I need to remember that. I’m thankful I have a family. Are they perfect? Not at all. But I have a good husband who loves me. As my ‘friends’ say, he must be a saint. Nobody else would put up with you! Saint, no, but he’s been there beside me, through the good times and the bad. I have three wonderful kids who have grown up to be three wonderful adults. I have a fantastic son by marriage and I have three of the best grandkids in the world. I’m glad they want me to be a part of their lives. I’m thankful I have both my parents. I worry about them more as they age and I’m glad for the times we have together. I’m thankful I knew my grandparents, all of them, including a great grandmother and grandfather. I know, through a roundabout way, they helped make me who I am today. I’m thankful I have a sister and a brother I love and who love me. I have cousins, aunts, uncles…all important in my life.

I’m glad I have a house to live in. I know there are people who have to go to a shelter or stay in their cars. It’s not just a house, and it’s not perfect, but I have a home. I’m thankful I have clean clothes to wear. Not everyone does. Some are tight and that means there is plenty to eat. Nobody here is hungry. I’m thankful for electricity. There is a washer, dryer, stove and refrigerator. I am fortunate to have luxuries, not just the necessities.

I’m thankful for the Internet. Dumb? Probably. But it has allowed me to connect with people I’d never have met or talked to otherwise. It lets me keep up with my sons, out of the state and out of the country, and my daughter, who is busy with her own life. I know what my sister, my cousin, my friends, are doing and they keep me connected with the rest of the family and world who don’t have the Internet.

I know I’m lucky; probably luckier than a lot of people. I am thankful for superficial things as well as for meaningful things. I am thankful, and I hope you can find a reason to be thankful too.

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And on this day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change 

And even though we all can still do more 

There's so much to be thankful for. 

I finished the autumn chickadee cowl. I just love sock yarn. The colors are so pretty and the patterns the yarn makes when knitted is beautiful. But I have no desire to make socks. Well, maybe one pair, someday, just to see if I can. But until then I’ll use it for other things.

Chickadee with three sock yarns

Folded over

With a pin

I’m starting a gift for my sister. Not for her, but for her to give her friend. It’s not a variegated yarn but it’s pretty. It’s purple with a pink and blue color mixed in. I don't have a picture yet.

Linen Stitch

 And bad as it sounds, I’m thankful I have yarn, probably too much, to work with when I want. But I won’t take it for granted.

Autumn colored yarn

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And every day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change. 

And even though we all can still do more. 

There's so much to be thankful for…

Sick And Tired

I took a ride on a February morning,
Just getting over it and dealing with the mourning,
I started thinking out loud: I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Yawn…I’m just too tired to move. I feel like it’s the first week or so of daylight savings time. I’m so sleepy I can't get up and get out of bed. I hit snooze then guess what? I’ve dozed enough that I have to really hurry. I think all day, how tonight I’ll go to bed earlier. Do I? No.

According to my doctor I need to sleep at the very least, seven hours a day. Yes, really, that’s what he ‘prescribed’. As an extra incentive he said sleep will help me to lose weight. I wonder.

But I don’t have time to sleep. I have things to do. There’s driving. There’s work, then chores. There’s supper, and dishes. There’s computer time. There are favorite shows and movies to watch. There are books to read. There are plans to make and dreams to dream. There are phone calls to receive and return. There is knitting to do.

I know there are ways I could operate more efficiently so I could get my seven or more hours of sleep a day and not be so tired. Unfortunately I’m not going to become some superwoman who plans menus, color codes, files, makes schedules and charts, and gets it all done. Actually I’m positive that no matter what, my closets, my house and my life will never be free of clutter or stress. There will always be something I didn’t get to. I’m no “Real Housewife of Crane County” in any shape or form.

I’ll rest a bit…yawn…then I’ll make a list…yawn…so that…yawn…I can be more competent…yawn…and productive, tomorrow…yawn…and get to bed…yawn…at a decent hour…yawn. Yes I’ll do that right after CSI…

I'm burning out now,

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

It’s been hot the past couple of days. I finished the brown cowl and I’m still knitting but I’m starting to wonder about some summer type patterns. Here's a quick picture. I'll post more later.

Knitayear isn’t a problem though. Day 326 is February 20. February has flown by! It’s Sunday and of course I didn’t get things I’d planned to do done. I did get some more yarn sorted and put in the cabinets. I will be really glad when it’s all organized and nice. I did a few other little things that didn’t really amount to much but it was something. I’m tired but that seems to be the norm lately. I googled reasons to be so tired but it was kind of depressing so I quit looking. But today was a good day overall and I chose a rainbow ribbon with some black in it. I’m especially fond of ribbon yarns for some reason. Day 327, February 21, is just another manic Monday! We had meetings all day. I chose some of the brown boucle from the cowl I was working on. Day 328, February 22 is a busy day. I’m finishing up some stuff for tomorrow for a presentation. I have an observation and then night class. My intern was very nice and invited me to his house to eat with his family. His wife fixed dinner, including dessert. I usually don’t bother to eat on night class nights. I chose a multi-color alpaca from my first WHIBSIB for today. February 23, day 329 is the birthday of a friend from college. I don’t know why on earth I remember that. It’s also the birthday of a girl I went first through twelfth grade with. That’s even stranger. Isn’t it weird the things that you remember? But ask me what I wore yesterday and I won’t know. Anyway, I had a presentation at a school district. It went well and I was relieved. I can breathe a bit easier now. I chose pink fun fur for the day. And finally, day 330, February 24, and this month is almost over. Does time pass more quickly the older you get? It seems that way a lot of the time. This was a catch up day in the office. I didn’t catch all the way up but I made a small dent. It’s a stressful time with cuts at our state agency and in education in general. I wonder if the governor doesn’t want to ensure that Texas is the dumbest state in the nation. I picked up carry out at JC’s for supper and went in and ordered so I could have a bellini. Worth it for sure! I picked a variegated cotton with purple, pink, yellow, green and blue yarn.

I drove home while exhaustion was setting in. Maybe bedtime will come earlier tonight. Who am I kidding? It will be 8:00 by the time I get there and I haven’t done a thing yet.

That left me all alone,

But I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I started thinking out loud: I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired.