Skip to main content

Ten Things of Thankful: Catching Up

 

John and I with the Pacific Ocean behind us

I didn't get a Ten Things of Thankful post written last week, so I'll just jump right in and try to catch up today:

I took my youngest granddaughter to Disneyland days before she turned 3. (It's a popular time to take a toddler, because 2-year-olds and younger don't need a ticket.) We enjoyed meeting Mickey Mouse and riding child-friendly attractions. We got stuck on a ride I had never been stuck on before--Jungle Cruise--but we were in a shady spot on the river, and granddaughter was able to catch a nap, so I really didn't mind the delay. I'm thankful for the chance to spend time with Baby-Baby.

While we both enjoyed ourselves, I was both surprised and delighted when my granddaughter asked mid-day, "Can we go to the library?" I told her that of course we would go again to the library, but it wouldn't be that day. On the ride home, she again mentioned wanting to go to the library. When I explained the library was closed for the day and I was taking her back to her house, she was sad. In an effort to distract her, I reminded her of all the fun we had had together at Disneyland. I told her that I had a song stuck in my head, and then I started singing, "In the Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room. . . " She shouted in amazement, "You have a SONG STUCK in your HEAD?!" Then she erupted in a huge fit of giggles. "Don't worry, Grandma, I'll get it out!" She then did anything but, as she repeatedly demanded, "Sing Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room!" before again giggling about the absurdity of having a song stuck in one's head. I'm lucky she doesn't carry a scalpel, because I'm pretty sure she was thinking I literally had a tune in my noggin. I'm thankful for her love of the library, love of music, and sense of humor.

A couple of days later, wishes came true, and I took all the grandchildren to the library for an after-school program. A "bubbleologist" entertained the kids by demonstrating fancy bubble-blowing techniques. After the library, we came back to the house and enjoyed dinner and birthday cake together. I'm thankful for my grandchildren and the memories we create together.

John had a rare Saturday off, and it couldn't have come at a better time, as our 37th anniversary was this past week. He had already planned to take Monday off, but with Saturday suddenly becoming available, we quickly planned a 3-day getaway to Santa Barbara. We enjoyed time on the water with a whale watching cruise, and although we didn't see any whales, we did see a couple of pods of dolphins and of course the ubiquitous seal lions, along with various water fowl. We went to the county courthouse, which we had heard was a must-see, and which didn't disappoint. The architecture is stunning, as are the tiles and murals, but the highlight for me was going upstairs to the Bisno Schall Clock Gallery and seeing the inner workings of the clock. We just happened to be there when Dr. Bisno was visiting, and he told the assembled visitors details about the clock and the history of how the gallery came to be. I'm thankful for 37 years together, and for the chance to explore Santa Barbara last weekend.

A young woman from church was able to feed Drexel for us while we were gone. I'm thankful she loves Drexel and is dependable.

All of my children have birthdays early in the year, with youngest son's coming last. His birth story is a dramatic one, and both he and I are lucky we survived the experience. I'm thankful for the perinatologist that came in on her day off (her own daughter's birthday) to deliver my son, and for her daughter who shared her mom with us 31 years ago, and I'm thankful for the neonatologists and nurses who cared for my son until his discharge months later. 

Regardless of how much time has passed, or how many different places we have lived or visited, at the end of the day I'm thankful for the people in my life. 

I'm linking up with the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop. Go check out the other entries to the party!






Comments

  1. messymimiApril 26, 2024 at 2:08 PM

    Wow, that's quite a two weeks. Your Baby-Baby is a hoot, I'm sure she'll grow up to be a force to be reckoned with, in a good way.

    Congratulations on the anniversary and many happy returns of the day to your son!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AstridApril 26, 2024 at 2:32 PM

    Wow, reading about your son's birth story made me feel all sorts of emotions. I'm a NICU baby myself, now 37, so I can relate in a way.

    I loved reading about your granddaughter's love of the library too. Oh and her way of making the song un-stuck (or not!) is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lisa TomeyApril 29, 2024 at 4:38 PM

    Happy Anniversary! I love hearing about your grands.

    ReplyDelete
  4. clarkApril 29, 2024 at 6:43 PM

    Happy Anniversary! What better interest to encourage in a child than a love of books and reading and such. (We were taken to the library on Friday evenings from easily as early as first grade.)
    have a great week

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more