Ten Things of Thankful

It is time for me to step up to the plate before this Ten Things of Thankful inning is over. It began on Friday and here it is toward the end of the day on Monday! Technically there is still another day to write our posts for this blog hop, so I'll take a deep breath and begin my post. Thanks to Kristi, our host, we have a place to link up. Click Ten Things of Thankful to see what other bloggers shared for their ten.

The movie, Miracles from Heaven 

I stayed up later than I had intended this past week just to watch this 2016 movie based on the true experience of a little girl who had an incurable disorder. Her body was unable to digest food. It was such a reminder of how important it is for parents or others to be advocates for children, and a reminder too that miracles do happen sometimes in quite unexpected ways.

Online site that filled in the information that had momentarily slipped from my mind 

I was working on a writing assignment for storyworth about candy I liked as a child.

Being able to fill out necessary paperwork online

Whenever one is referred to another doctor or clinic, it means filling out pages of forms. Being able to key in the information online to a secure site instead of trying to write with a pen in tiny spaces is a huge thankful. Being able to print a completed copy of the forms to keep for your own records is a plus.

Apples still hanging from the trees in the winter

They provide nourishment for some birds who enjoy the pulp or who eat the insects that might be inside the apples.

A Northern flicker on a snow-covered
branch enjoying a Criterion apple still
hanging from the tree 

Rocking chairs

I have fond memories of sitting on my paternal grandmother's lap when I was young as she rocked in her favorite rocking chair. My grandparents had five rocking chairs. Two were on their screened-in front porch where they sat in the late afternoons to watch whatever was going on outside. Three rockers were in the room with the big dining table, the large floor-model radio, the gas heater, and the sewing machine. That room was the main living space. The sound of the rockers' movement on the wooden floors was a comforting sound to my ears. My husband and I only have one rocker in our home now. I find that it is comfortable and comforting as it has a way of relaxing me and distracting me from flare-ups of pain I occasionally get. 

Me at age 17 sitting in the rocker my
grandmother rocked me in when I
was little

Art that makes me laugh, that stirs my soul because of its subject matter or beauty, or makes children's books come alive 

My mother’s few seconds of clarity that made it possible for the nurse to know what might be a better way care for her

The sunshine that arrived on the morning that snow had been forecast and on another day the beautiful snow that covered the ground in the morning, but which melted by afternoon allowing me to travel and see a bluebird fly across the road in the afternoon

The sense of joy that comes from being able to organize what must be organized (papers that need to be taken to the accountant) and also the contentment of realizing that sometimes one must put some tasks aside in order to do the better thing

The new insights that come from reading a book repeatedly

For some that might be reading a favorite book of poetry, a notable recounting of a historical event or events, or a book from which you receive inspiration, or one that strengthens your faith. Do you have a certain book, or volumes, that are always close at hand that you read often?

Lastly, I am thankful for my husband who allows me the time and the space to gather my thoughts to share here each week and for each of you who come read my post.