Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for . . .

1. The opportunity to pay it forward.  Last night a friend of mine did me a huge favor by coming over after the kids were asleep so I could go grocery shopping.  Bobby has been working nights, I babysit 2 little girls during the day, and everyone got sick over the past week.  It's been hard to get out and do the essentials- like buy milk and bread.  It was so helpful to be able to get out for 45 minutes on my own.  I was very grateful for her time and service.

Today I had the opportunity to help out another neighbor.  She has two kids, a 5-year old girl S and a 2 year-old little boy E.  Our kids are friends.  She is currently in school for Occupational Therapy and she's in the middle of finals week.  She texted me in a panic this morning because her babysitter fell through at the last minute and she needed to study for a practical exam in the afternoon.  Could I watch her 2 year-old for a couple of hours so she could study, she asked.  I had been planning on running a few errands in the morning, but after I had been helped in my time of need last night, I didn't feel right saying, "I wish I could help, but I'm busy.  Sorry."  I told her to bring E over for as long as she needed.  I can't describe the look of relief on her face when she dropped him off.  It reminded me of my own grad school experience and how stressful it was, especially during finals.  There were times when all I could think about was studying, eating, or sleeping.  It was hard enough, and that was before we had any kids. I can't imagine being in school now with little people who need my time and attention.  I commend my friend for her efforts; she is doing a very hard thing.

I decided to take it a step further and I doubled the recipe for chili and cornbread that I was making for dinner.  Bobby dropped off the extra batch for her and her family, and she later texted me, "Oh my gosh Amanda, thank you so much!!  You probably felt that I'm not cooking anymore lately!!  Thank you, this is so much, thank you!"  I'm glad I was able to lift that burden for her.  Service is good medicine.

2. My guardian angel.  I definitely had one watching over me tonight.  Our schedule got kind of crazy around 5 pm.  The girls had a birthday party to go to and a rehearsal at church for the Christmas pageant tomorrow night.  I was running way behind for everything, and when I was parking on the street for the birthday party I nearly took out the rear headlight on a sign post.  I didn't even see it behind me until it was right next to me- literally centimeters from the side of the van.  I don't know how I missed it, but I'm glad I did.

Later, when we were running [late] to get to the church, Sydney started complaining that she was hungry.  I explained to her that was because she refused to eat anything at the birthday party and I hadn't packed any snacks so I couldn't do anything about it to help her.  Then, in a moment of compassion, I realized that we would be driving right by the house in order to pick up 2 youth on the way to church.  I told Sydney that I would run into the house to grab something for her to eat.  As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside I smelled gas.  I ran into the kitchen and saw that the front burner, the one with the pot of chili on it, was turned to the HI position.  There were no flames, just gas coming out.  It had probably been like that for about an hour- if it happened right before Bobby left, which I suspect it did- I think he bumped it on his way out the kitchen door to get to his car that was parked in the back.  In any case, I quickly turned it off and opened the window to air out the room.  If I hadn't gone into the house, it would've been another two hours at least until I would have returned home.  I can't imagine how dangerous that would've been.  Someone was definitely looking out for us.

3. Liam's ABC's.  He sings the song over and over and it just gets cuter and cuter.  At the end he says, "Now I know my EFG's, next time won't you sing with me!"  I can't bring myself to correct him.

4. Sticky notes.  Bobby could tell that I was in a bit of a rush and a funk when I herded everyone out the door this evening.  When we got home Lillian and I found sticky notes all over the bathroom mirror.  Bobby wrote a little note to each one of us.  It brightened up my night.  He's a sweet guy.