Last week, I bunked off work early and went to the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon with a cloudless June sky and a gentle breeze blowing off the water, and I realized how lucky I was to be able to be there. I had no one to collect from school and no baseball practice to shuttle to and from. Nobody was counting on me to provide nourishment or even junk food snacks. Nobody needed me to change a diaper or resolve a dispute over a remote control. No one was relying on me for anything, and right then, at that moment, I was glad for it.
So, let’s turn Whiny Wednesday upside down this week. Tell me: What are you grateful for today?
(And by the way, if your answer is “nothing” you’re welcome to come and whine anyway.)
I am grateful for this blog and how it makes me feel like part of a community! i love Wednesdays bc sometimes I just need to whine to someone who “gets me”… And u all do, and I don’t feel alone. Thank you to Lisa and my “community” ladies.
DITTO!
Took a trip to the gorgeous Laurentians in Quebec on the weekend. While I had breakfast in bed, painted my nails and caught up on Downton Abbey, I could hear crying and whining children being yelled at by exasperated mothers. It gave me a great big smile to hear it, and I enjoyed my morning that much more!
I attended a baptism on Sunday with my husband. We gave it a lot of thought before we went because when we received the news about the pregnancy it was really hard on us. We learned that the baby hasn’t stopped crying since it was born and everyone was jiggling and patting it to keep it calm. The mother looked angry, exhausted and stressed and the husband looked like he was being constantly yelled at by his wife. I got to hold the baby after the ceremony and got her quiet but her face looked really angry and I suspect her personality will be a child that has a lot of temper tantrums. After I returned the baby to the parents, I felt VERY grateful for my life.
I am thankful that I will never have to drag my tantrum-throwing child out of a store and that I’ll never have to be one of those car-pooling moms. There are lots of things to enjoy about a life without children. I love the quiet mornings when I can go sit in my backyard with a cup of tea and just relax and reflect. Just as people with children have moments to be thankful for, so do those of us without.
I’m grateful for today, in which DOMA was struck down unconstitutionally!
I’m grateful that women were heard, even shouting, disrupting the legislation in Texas, that the bill that would have limited women’s choice, got killed.
So today is a good day (although I’m not happy with the important part in voting rights was revoked yesterday.)
And with all that in mind, it sure helped me realize, with no kid around, I could watch news and the live video in TX legislation (with Wendy talking for over 10 hours, and of her supporters), without interruptions.
I am grateful for you, Lisa Manterfield, for providing us with this blog and this place of support. When I visit your blog I do not feel so alone in my circumstance. I enjoy seeing the same names here each week, and am actually getting to know (a little anyway) the wonderful women that post here. So thank you Lisa for all that you do for us! I’ve seen your picture here so often that I’d know you anywhere. If I ever saw you on the street I’d have to give you a big hug (be forewarned!). 🙂
Some other good things to report: my mother is home from the hospital and feeling better, I successfully resolved a conflict with one of my carpool riders and we are now getting along wonderfully again, I love my job and am glad to be there every day … and for my birthday a few weeks ago, my best friend (also child-free) threw me an amazing birthday party (champagne and margaritas all around!) and the next day we went to see Tom Petty live in Hollywood. Just a few rows from the stage, we danced like we were teenagers again. What a blast! Margaritas and rock n roll are always good for a girl’s morale!
Finally, the engraved marker we ordered for our baby’s burial spot came out lovely and the cemetery administration have all been wonderful to work with. They are compassionate and caring and supportive and they have made a difficult situation easier to handle. I will always be grateful for them… and knowing our child is buried in a special safe place.
Mary, I’m so glad you had such a spectacular birthday… It has given me ideas of how I want to celebrate my next birthday. Hugs!
I traveled to England along with many of my family members to attend my graduation. We made a family trip out of it and it was spectacular. I really enjoyed the Lake District. My DH continued on his journey to visit his parents in his home country, and since we didn’t have high tea in the UK, I hosted an afternoon tea at my home, complete with clotted cream, which I brought back, lemon curd, homemade scones and all sorts of finger sandwiches. That was spectacular. I’ve started teaching in the new term, and received evaluations from last term that were really outstanding. I still, as an adjunct, do not have a job that pays a living wage, but I think these really great evaluations can’t hurt, right? During the tea party I also babysat my cousin’s 3 year old, who I adore. But, boy, kids do demand a LOT of attention and I was also glad for the peace and quiet after everyone left. That left me alone to read, and two of the books I picked up “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Me Before You” are such heart wrenching tearjerkers that you really appreciate the most basic of things, health, freedom of movement, the years and memories that you have created with loved ones. I’m hanging out with one friend for dinner tomorrow afternoon and with another at the Beach Friday afternoon with a friend, like Lisa.
Iris, this sounds wonderful. Congratulations on your graduation! I am an Anglophile and love anything and everything associated with high tea. I’ve had high tea in London, Paris, Ireland, everywhere I go I seek out a tea room. Just the words “clotted cream”, “lemon curd” and “finger sandwiches” make me swoon. Your post made my day (and made me hungry). 🙂
Me too, Mary… No chance you’re in Florida, huh? 🙂
I also read “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Me Before You” – two of the most beautiful and touching books I have ever read!
Klara, I cried so much with each my eyes hurt the next morning… Good grief!! I usually avoid tearjerkers because life’s tough enough, right? But yes, they were beautifully written.
I meant to say, like Lisa, without the stress she alludes to in her post.
I’m grateful for all that I have in life…hubby, my family, my friends, my online friends, enough money to live a decent life and save for rainy days, a comfy house, warm beds, warm blankets…all the lovely flowers and abundance of trees available here, fresh air, clean water, my job. And the list goes on…:-)
I just spent 2 days with a SIL and my husband’s nephew who is six. I saw first-hand how random reinforcement strongly influences behavior (negative, in this case) and how exhausting that is for the adults who have to endure it. Part of the reason we haven’t adopted is i have medical issues and no energy anyway. I was a limp rag at the end of the 2 days. The amount of disrespect that child had for the adults was quite appalling. If the parents don’t get that under control soon, they are going to have a terror on their hands.
I’m so thankful i don’t have to straighten that mess out! This visit also prepared us for any future ones as i do not plan to allow myself to be disrespected in my own home again, and we WILL set rules of expected behavior.
I just got back from a vacation to the Dominican Republic last night and I am so thankful for the time off from work and just life in general. It was nice to relax with my husband and just enjoy time with each other!
Awesome, this is a vacation I plan to take one day! 🙂