I was attempting to write a post where I counted backwards, tossing out a single thing to be thankful for every day during November, however, my brain lost a few days in the middle and I don't keep a journal. We have three birthdays during the month (plus, Daelynn shares a birthday with my best friend.) We kept it simple this year -- no parties. I honestly couldn't have handled the extra cleaning. But, the ages in the family are all +1 now (my 36, Gabrie's 6, and Daelynn's 13). Some years, the birthday fun isn't fun at all, but I think this year really was. A big THANK YOU to everyone who remember our days and even tried for days (...John...) to say "Happy Birthday!" to my actual ears instead of leaving a message. There were delicious dinners (mmm...fish), too much cake (work birthday parties), and presents that became just what was wanted.
Other than gaining a year, we had some losses. We (which really means *I*) finally let Drie go to another family where she has a sister dog and owners who run (it is possible that James still resents me for this). We learned our foreign exchange student didn't want to stay with us -- or maybe he did -- oh, wait! He didn't. What a roller coaster! Gabrie lost a tooth. Samuel lost a train. Daelynn lost (and later found) parts of her clarinet. Chrissee lost her bedroom floor (we hope she'll find it again after finals) and Bethany lost someone she thought would love her forever...then, didn't.
I wish I could say my heart was full of gratitude for all the experiences that are, somehow, making me a better person and such...but, it isn't. All of the "things" I value most aren't things at all, they are people and all them feel so far away. If we were homeless and hungry, we would have more of each other than we do at this minute. I am so blessed that I had the amount of time that I did to enjoy the people in my world one on one, even when we disagreed or stuff got messy. There isn't enough time to disagree or agree or do more than hug on the way out the door during the week now. I need to gift myself a hands free device so I can call people I love from my car -- an hour and a half every day just to chat...that would be awesome. Let's just say I'm not transitioning well.
Other than gaining a year, we had some losses. We (which really means *I*) finally let Drie go to another family where she has a sister dog and owners who run (it is possible that James still resents me for this). We learned our foreign exchange student didn't want to stay with us -- or maybe he did -- oh, wait! He didn't. What a roller coaster! Gabrie lost a tooth. Samuel lost a train. Daelynn lost (and later found) parts of her clarinet. Chrissee lost her bedroom floor (we hope she'll find it again after finals) and Bethany lost someone she thought would love her forever...then, didn't.
I wish I could say my heart was full of gratitude for all the experiences that are, somehow, making me a better person and such...but, it isn't. All of the "things" I value most aren't things at all, they are people and all them feel so far away. If we were homeless and hungry, we would have more of each other than we do at this minute. I am so blessed that I had the amount of time that I did to enjoy the people in my world one on one, even when we disagreed or stuff got messy. There isn't enough time to disagree or agree or do more than hug on the way out the door during the week now. I need to gift myself a hands free device so I can call people I love from my car -- an hour and a half every day just to chat...that would be awesome. Let's just say I'm not transitioning well.
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