Being Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. I was washing the dishes thinking of everything I am thankful for. I'm always thankful for dishes because they are a great stress-relief tool for me, but I was doubly thankful today because it means I have food to eat, and a home to prepare that food in and keep me and my family safe from the elements.

Though it is not a complete list, here are a few of the things I am especially thankful for.

1) My husband - the Lord blessed me with a life partner that couldn't be more perfectly suited to me.
2) My son - the newest and brightest light in my life. As far as babies go, I think he's perfect.
3) My family - both the one I didn't choose and the one that I did. They are all a bunch of nuts and I wouldn't have it any other way.
4) My community - I'm surrounded by family and friends (some who are both). We live in this gorgeous corner of the world, nestled in among the trees and fields of gold. It's quiet, yet busy; peaceful yet ever-changing. If you're going to live in the country, it's just about the most perfect place to live.
4) My friends - the far-flung ones who have been friends since birth, and have helped shape me. Plus, who would have I have to stay with or visit when I travel? The near ones who provide a little extra spice in life, keep me from being a homebody, and are excellent parenting examples.
5) My job - I am so thankful I have a job. One that I love and could return to after such a long absence.
6) My church family - See community and friends. I'm not sure there are many places in the world where your immediate neighbours are your family/friends, and fellow believers.
7) The weather - it may seem silly to some, but here, the weather is paramount to everything. The last few years and months have been a challenge for everyone. But we've finally been blessed with a steady stretch of warm, sunny, windy weather so that the field work and harvest can go ahead. There is still lots to do, so we all need to pray for a little more.

Dreams

I've never been one to remember my dreams. Falling dreams are the most common for me, and even then, they rarely happen.
In the last months of my pregnancy I dreamt almost every night. Now, for some reason, my dreams involve explosive poo, incessant crying and the fear that Gauge is lying on my chest while I'm in bed, and I can't move him. Oh, and people (usually older women) telling me I'm a poor mother. 2 of those 4 haunt me during the day too.

Word of the Day

Today's iGoogle Word of the Day is slovenly - negligent of neatness; especially in dress and person; habitually dirty and unkempt.

The very first time I encountered this word was in Taipei in 2006, when Ariannland and I visited the Chaing Kai-Shek memorial.

It frustrated me to think that the Taiwanese commonly used an English word so great as slovenly - a word I didn't know - that I took a picture of it and looked it up later.

One more reason to love international travel.