Thursday, September 25, 2014

Being Thankful Other Than At Thanksgiving

The SITS girls offered a Back to Blogging Challenge this week to help those of us that fell completely off the blogging wagon hop back on just in time for the fun that is blogging about our real lives (because summer is never real life, is it?)

Today's challenge is to write about 10 things we are thankful for.  At first, I wasn't going to do it.  I am not a fan of things like that- wait that sounds weird.  I like being thankful, I am just not a fan of making a big deal out of what I am thankful for.

But, I thought it over and decided I can come up with a list of 10 things that won't be so syrupy you'll have to gag and perhaps you might actually find some humor in what I find to be thankful for.

Honestly, some of these things are based on the fact that I have pictures to go with them and I have a new thing  about not wanting to blog if I don't have a picture to include, as I explained here.

So, in no particular order, seriously, I am not more thankful for #1 than I am for #10, here they are.

 #1.  I'm thankful that I sat down and read about how to make blackberry jelly this summer when the blackberries were so plentiful, not picking them should have been illegal.  This led to me also finally figuring out how to do something with the bounty grapes we have every fall.  Now we have a bevy of jellies to use this winter and other than the sugar and time put into them, they cost me nothing!


#2.  I'm thankful that I've been fortunate enough to grow up in our family owned campground and still live there.  Even though I've been able to travel in my life, the world has come to my door every summer of my life and I've met some of the strangest and some of the most fun people in my own back yard.

 #3.  I'm thankful that while I may not look like a supermodel, my body has gotten me through nearly 4 decades without any major medical traumas.  And really, who wants to look like a supermodel?  I couldn't be bothered with that kind of pressure.  Supermodels aren't supposed to get sweaty and dirty and that's pretty much how I spend my summers.  I'd be kicked off the supermodel team on day 1.

#4.  I'm thankful that I have the space, desire and creativity to grow such great vegetables every summer.
#5.  I'm thankful that even though my riding sometimes looks like this, Jackson allows me to stick with it and do some pretty cool stuff with him.  And I'm glad that I gave the whole "show" thing a whirl this summer and won a couple of these with him!
 #6.  I'm thankful that I got to spend my 18th summer with Gwenstopher.  When she did a dance with death in the spring, I wasn't sure she'd make it to her favorite season but with a different food and thyroid pills, she's still plugging along.  I was sad that she didn't spend much time with me outside, her favorite thing to do, but she enjoyed some fabulous naps on the warm patio blocks and pretending to stalk a rabbit.  And yes, she's still kicking.

 #7.  I'm thankful that k-ster is as handy as he is.  It's nice to know when we want to do something that he knows how to do, we don't have to hire some fool that won't finish the job or will overcharge.

 #8.  I'm thankful that I can sew and make neat stuff for other people and that my sister and instagram got my butt in gear this summer and encouraged me to make some clothes for myself, which I hadn't done in a long time.
 #9.  I'm thankful that I was able to go to college and reaffirm that I was meant to teach.  If you've read my blog long enough, you might think that what and who exactly I should teach is still debatable.

#10.  And that I went to college far enough away to discover that I really wanted to come back because this place where we live is pretty rare.

 Linking here:
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/community/back-to-blogging-day-4-writing-prompts/
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2014/09/freedom-fridays-with-all-my-bloggy_25.html

1 comment:

I love comments almost as much as I love summer. I reply to all comments except those ridiculous anonymous comments offering me dirty deeds and real estate. When you leave your comment, please make sure your own settings will allow me to reply to you. Nothing makes me sadder than replying to your comments and then realizing it’s going to the no-reply@blogger address!