Gratitude Day #14

Saturday November 14

1. I am grateful for grocery stores that hand out balloons to little boys. Little boys who then wear the balloon on their wrist in the car, for the entire duration of the primary activity today, back in the car, into Menard's to buy mulch, and then home. Lots and lots of entertainment out of one balloon. Thanks Trader Joe's.

2. I am grateful for scholarships. Over the last two years, I've had to pull the children out of dance, piano lessons, swim lessons, summer classes and sports . . . pretty much most extracurricular activities. I have been trying to teach Max and Sophie piano on my own and that is really not going well - no consistency on my part (goal: do better). On the bright side - I applied for scholarships for Max and Sophie to attend the MITY fall Yes: Your Extraordinary Saturday classes and they were accepted! I ended up paying less that 1/3 of the cost of tuition which made it doable for us. Today was the third of four weeks of classes. Sophie is taking The Plays the Thing and Leonardo DaVinci: Artful Scientist. Max is taking Environmental Science and another about Hawaii. The classes are in St. Paul and the both seem to love them.

3. I am grateful to have finished the two cakes today. My kitchen is one big sticky mess, but the cakes went out the door this evening along with the extra white chocolate mousse and bittersweet chocolate filling. Hooray. The dishes are done and the dishwasher is running, the the floors will have to wait until tomorrow.

4. I am grateful to the deacons (12-13 year olds) of my church. This afternoon, the deacons and their leaders came to my home to do a service project. They removed the 4 year old sod from under the deck (which had become home to wasp nests and little critters) and hauled it away, weeded and mulched, mowed the lawn, fixed all of the kids bikes, organized the garage, vacuumed out the van, rimmed a garden bed with pavers, stored the summer outdoor toys and who knows what else - I was holed up in the kitchen baking up a storm. Sophie acted the hostess and brought them hot cocoa and donuts. I seem to have become the ward service project and I am far beyond the point of being embarrassed by this distinction. Instead, I am just so very aware of how many truly wonderful people there are in my life. I am so very aware of how incredible my church is - specifically this Eagan Ward. I am so very grateful for these young men who willingly spent hours on a Saturday afternoon working in the chilly November air. I am so very grateful to the parents who have taught their children the importance of service. Thank you. Thank you.

5. I am grateful for the the new visitors to the blog who have left little comments this week. It is always delightful to meet new people and I am so grateful to these online connections. I know that I have been uplifted many times by the words of complete strangers posted on the internet. It is a wonderful thing.