Ten Things of Thankful

Tonight as I write my post to link to the blog hop Ten Things of Thankful, I'm trying to divert my mind away from pain in my back.  I kept a bit of a short list this week, so I wouldn't forget some of these things.

1.  It has been many years since I needed to cancel services of any kind, so I'd forgotten that whole thing about giving a month's notice.  I was calling to cancel some of my Mom's services at her home which had just sold, and it was brought to my attention that she would still owe another month of payment, even though she wouldn't be living there.  In this case the new owners may or may not choose to use the service. I didn't want to give any earlier notice until the deal was final.  How can I turn this into a positive statement?  I'm thankful to be reminded of some things people should know (give a month's notice, and be sure you are talking to the one who takes care of stopping services).  I'm thankful that I didn't postpone taking care of the cancellations.

2.  Some people really like word games and some don't.  I fall into the first category.  One day this week I was visiting my Mom at the nursing center and saw a small group of residents in my Mom's area playing Scrabble with an activities' leader.  Mom was not one of those playing, but when I wheeled her near the game, I noticed that the playing board had ridges around each letter spot.  This seemed to be so perfect for anyone playing this game, but especially so for those who have less agility than they did in their younger years.  We have a much older version of Scrabble with no ridges.  I'm thankful for whoever came up with the idea of using ridges on the board and also enabling the board to spin.  Perhaps those suggestions came from people who have younger children or someone with less agility.

3. One day during the middle of the week, I decided to drive to town to do a few errands. My second errand was to go to an office supply store.  As I was trying to see the items on a lower shelf, I took a step backwards and must have bumped my shoe on a lower metal rack behind me.  I found myself being off balanced, and I couldn't straighten myself sufficiently to keep from falling.  On the way down I hit the back of my head, and about every spot on my backside and somehow even scraped my forearms.  No one saw this happen since I was the only one in the aisle, but with the banging of the metal shelves, a couple of workers came to inquire if I was okay, and if I needed them to call an ambulance.  I decided that wasn't necessary.  Mostly I felt I'd just injured my pride and added insult to injury since I am still trying to get back my range of motion from when I broke my arm, and have been dealing with a reoccurrence of back pain for several months.  The big thankful from this fall is that I didn't do any further damage to my shoulder and arm and that I didn't have to spend hours in the ER. 

4.  Thursday, the northwest was due for a big storm that was to hit in the evening and go through Saturday night.  The storm hit right as scheduled, but didn't seem to last very long Thursday evening.  As my husband and I were working at the computers, I heard a sound of dripping water in the next room.  The combined hard wind and the rain found a weak spot on the roof.  We quickly set up couple of containers to catch any further drips.  Since then there have been no more drips.  Yeah!  I'm thankful to have ears to hear, that we were close in vicinity to the sound of the drip, and that our house is dry inside.

5.  I'm thankful for the beautiful clouds that were a part of the storm system.

6.  I'm thankful that the storm didn't turn out to be anything like the Columbus Day Storm of years' past, as was forecast.

7.  One day this week as I was carrying a little bowl of grapes I'd picked, I saw something run between my legs on the ramp and run down the steps.  It startled me, but after looking closer, I saw that it was one of the two little fence lizards that seem to have taken up residence near our house.  I'm thankful for little creatures.  Since my husband grew up closer to the high desert, he particularly likes to see them.

8.  I'm thankful for my husband's assistance this week when I've taken it even easier than before this week's event.

9.  Once a month I have the opportunity to have lunch with some friends, and I am grateful for these times.  The number in the group varies from month to month, but it is always fun to attend when I am able.  Fortunately, Tuesday was a pretty good day for me, and I was able to attend.

10. Some people dread storms.  I don't like the destructions that often comes with a storm, but I must admit that I enjoy watching the lightning and hearing the thunder and the pounding of hard rain. Watching it from a safe place inside, I feel protected from this magnificent power.