Thankful Thursday #15

I am fighting some type of viral infection in the only way that I know that works: sleeping. So, in order to take my medicine (sleep), my "gratitude list" today will be short, not because I have few things to be thankful for (I have lots, actually) but because I really do need to fall into bed and into sleep, preferably in that order!

1. Driving home tonight, even though I was feeling pretty miserable physically, I could not be anything but grateful for the location in which I have ended up, thanks to God wanting me in the job in which I serve. My daily drive home feeds me one kind of eye candy after another: Pacific Ocean splashing against sand dunes and rolling out along sandy beaches, followed by a snaky road through rolling farmland, then the freeway through the open valley, and right turn after the eucalpytus grove made famous by Hitchcock's Vertigo, and culminating in two too-short miles through Californian golden hills into my pastoral town with Mexican roosters slowing my final approach as they walk solemnly and stately in front of the car.

2. As I drove up to my house tonight in the historic area, I felt a wave of gratitude for the house that we found a while back, a little charmer that all my friends think we are lucky to have. It is on the historic register, which means that we cannot change any of its structure, a fact that some might consider restrictive, but my response is, who would want to change it?

3. As I turned into the driveway tonight, I saw that my son's truck was there, so I parked on the street. Walking up the deck stairs to the back door, I could see my daughter-in-law, Lemony, in the kitchen. Oh, no! Were both the grandkids there, too? I really did not want to expose Nikolina to any bad germs. Although she has turned out to be quite a hardy little girl, we still avoid making her immune system work overtime, considering all that she has been through medically. It turned out, luckily, that Nikolina was home with Shane and only Lemony and Nathaniel had come. Neither was concerned about exposure to anything since they had just had their flu shot. Yes! We had a nice time chatting for a while.

4.Thinking back on the day, I am grateful for wonderful employees. Many today showed up in my office with their favorite means of treating viral infections. The Russians took the cake, literally, however. (Because I completed my dissertation in Moscow, they consider me an honorary Russian.) They brought me a pot of honey, lemon slices, and hot tea -- and a big piece of chocolate cake. Chai s medom (tea with honey) is the Russian remedy for whatever ails you -- and if that does not work, there is always chai s viski (tea with whiskey).

5. Finally -- well, not finally, just a last example from the thoughts of today -- I am grateful for a roof over my bed and a comfortable bed to sleep in so that I can take my medicine (sleep). Not everyone has access to that kind of medicine but rather have to make do in shelters or, in our part of the world where it is warm year round, on the street. One of my friends does a weekly supply run (food, blankets, and toiletries) to a group of people sleeping on the river bank a few miles from here. For that reason, I take my own toiletries and save all those little bottles of shampoo and little bars of soap that hotels put in their rooms. They are just the right size for Bennie's weekly runs, for which our SFO gathers food. As they say, "there but for the grace of God go I" or any of us. So, I am grateful that I sleep in a bed and not on the river bank and try not to take that gift for granted.


More information about one of the Thankful Thursday memes can be found at the website of Women Taking a Stand. This meme host is shared with other blogs so you will need to check to see which one is hosting any given month. This month the host is Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Link up with Greg's and Daryl's Thankful Thursday at Greg's General Store.