Today is Nothing Special-and I Guess That's the Point

This morning when the alarm clock went off, I just couldn't do it. I shut it off, and snuggled up to Kaylee who had sneaked her way into our bed again early this morning and fallen back asleep. About 30 minutes later it was time to officially rush. Throw on clothes, skip the shower for now, shove some food in and race Kaylee to school. From there I took a helium tank back to a store, only to find out they didn't accept gas tanks back even though it was unopened, because of possible hazards. Convinced them I wasn't a terrorist and to take it back regardless of their policy, and got my $23 back. Filled up my car with gas, ran to Wal-Mart to return K's birthday bike which was too small for her and get the next size up. Went next door to a home healthcare place to drop off some medical equipment that needed repaired. New manager there who has no idea what I'm talking about or why I'm doing it. Great. Starting over there! I talked her into letting me leave the equipment, and having them call the manufacturers about repairs on the machines even though she wanted me to basically take them and go away. She'll soon enough catch up to where the other manager was and learn I just don't often go quietly. ;) Get home, and I have some time to do the dishes, check my email, work on the computer for a few minutes, walk on the treadmill, take that shower, get ready again, and then go pick up K at school, who is dying to ride her new bike outside even though it is freezing cold, which means I'll do it and then come in for some hot chocolate to warm up hands and faces.

And thus begins a Typical Thursday. Nothing special, nothing extraordinary, probably not even interesting to anybody. But I am grateful for it, because the paragraph above means several things: I have a warm, comfortable home. I have a healthy, smart, sweet 5-year-old daughter who loves me and loves to snuggle with me and who loves school. I have peace in my home. I have a non-profit organization where I get to try to help people who are in a situation I was in years ago when there WAS no help. I have the ability to push when I need to in order to get that help, something I didn't used to be able to do. I have enough money to get gas in my car and a bike for my daughter. I'm healthy enough to walk on the treadmill and chase my daughter down on her new bike in the dead of winter. My typical Thursday is full of things for which I am thankful.

There are some things the first paragraph don't cover but are also true: I have a wonderful job. I fly airplanes for a living, something I have wanted to do since I was seven years old, and I love it. I also get to stay home with my daughter most of the time. I’ve been blessed with two beautiful sons and one beautiful daughter. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally and has stood by me through some of the worst things two people can go through together, something with a typical divorce rate of 85-90% within five years that has instead brought us together. I have wonderful friends who are kind, giving, supportive, and yet still willing to gently find a way to tell me I’m whacked out if need be. Friends who will tell me the truth when I need it and who care about me a great deal. I have a wonderful God who has been faithful, never leaving or forsaking me, who holds two of my children in his arms until I can be there with them too.

All these things and more are sitting here quietly, unobtrusively, day in and day out, easily lost in the minutia of life. The reality is that these often overlooked things ARE my life, and I am so very thankful.Today is nothing special--and I guess that's the point!