This week I’m so thankful, I’m giddy. And here’s why:
1) It snowed! Now some of you have been facing lots of snow (and are probably not giddy about it), but we rarely get any significant amount of white precipitation in the Willamette Valley. On Thursday night, I told my husband, “Yay! We get a snow day!” John pointed out that we don’t work, we’re retired and everyday is a snow day. And to that I said, “Yay! We get a snow day!”
2) We heard the snow was coming, so I visited Wilco and bought two bird socks filled with thistle seed and one peanut 
butter/seed hanging thingee. At first the birds avoided the peanut butter/seed hanging thingee–or at least I mistook their lack of interest to be avoidance. But then one little feathered foul found it, then another, and another. Now they are fighting over the hanging thingee. And the birds still like the thistle socks too. We’ve had hundreds of birds visit our yard during the last few days.
3) I haven’t cross country skied for seven years. Probably longer. For some reason, this year I’ve yearned to hit the trails again, but our vehicles are not geared to drive in the mountains. Then the snow came to me. I found my skis, my boots, and even my poles. I found my ski pants and a water repellant coat and mittens, and donned them all to ski around our neighborhood. And it was every bit as cool as I remember. I better get a vehicle that can drive to the mountains so I can do this more often.
4) My ski pants still fit me! Now for those of you who never change sizes over the years, you won’t understand my joy when I pulled up the pants and they still zipped–and that I could actually move around in them! I did a little happy dance before going outside.
5) During my ski excursion, I only fell down once. And even more remarkable, I got up without help. And I skied some more–a big huge grin on my face and a heart filled with happiness.
6) My previous career was a property insurance adjuster. As much as I loved that job, whenever a weather event occurred, I knew I’d get bombarded with claims. For the northwest/Willamette Valley, snow is considered a major weather event. The last time we had this much snow and freezing temperatures, insured’s pipes froze or they had ice damming or their pipes burst and caused a lot of interior water damage. Instead of taking a moment to enjoy the snow’s beauty, I cringed, mentally preparing for all the work that lay ahead. I didn’t have to do that this time. And that makes me extremely happy.
7) On Thursday I had a minor dental surgery scheduled. (Well, if you consider close to $1k minor). It had already started snowing and I wondered if I should cancel. When I called the office, the soonest they could reschedule was the first week of March. I’d mentally prepared for the surgery and didn’t want to wait. The roads were still clear and I decided to drive into Salem, have the surgery, and drive home. Everything went as planned. I’m so glad the snow stayed away long enough for this procedure to be done and for me to get back home safe and sound.
8) I couldn’t believe how painless the dental surgery turned out to be. Dr. Wylam did an excellent job and talked me through the entire procedure. I’m so thankful there were no complications and that it didn’t hurt. At all. Thanks Dr. Wylam.
9) Our house looks different with snow covering the yard and shrubs and piled on the roof. Every time it snows, I plan to take a picture and save the photo for the following year’s Christmas card. And this time I remembered! Of course I’ll likely forget I have the photo by the time the holidays roll back around and I’ll send out an entirely different Christmas greeting, but at least I have the picture–just in case.
10) That my Ten Things of Thankful piece is done on Saturday, instead of just under the wire on Sunday (like usual). Happy weekend to you all!
My first book will be coming out September 26, 2017. If you are interested in learning more about Loving Lindsey: Raising a Daughter with Special Needs, please click here.
