Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my slowly returning health, that nobody else in my family caught the plague, for Kaylee's peace and contentment and growth, for Steve's hard work and atttiude/perspective, and for people who stand behind/beside you when things get a little tough.

The day dawned foggy again, but by 10 it had mostly burned off, allowing a student and I to go on a cross-country flight to Warsaw and back. I found that I was okay at altitude for the most part, but the descent was a little hard on my sinuses and ears still. I picked up a quick lunch, ran three errands, and then I had to come back and take a nap. At least it's more than I could do two days ago. :)

Kaylee had gymnastics today, and there was only one other girl in her class. Last week she was the only one, and they said if there were no more kids for the next two weeks they would cancel that class. I'm not sure if one more kid is enough or not, but I guess next week we will find out. I enjoy watching Kaylee, but I do not enjoy being in there. It's a concrete room, which means sound is amplified a lot. It has little metal folding chairs set up right next to each other, fifty of them in a cinder block room smaller than my living room. So you are cheek to cheek with a whole lot of people in a loud room that smells like stale Doritos stuffed in sweaty gym socks. There are usually a few people who actually gets cell phone reception in there who will speak very loudly on the phone to hear over the din and include us all in their phone conversations. There are always people talking back and forth, who also have to do so loudly to hear each other over the din. There are always tons of little bitty kids trapped in that little room, bored and unhappy, where they can't run, play, or do much of anything, so of course there is a non-stop litany of "Johnny, don't do that. Come back here. No running. Brittany, stop that. I said no. No. No. Stop it. Don't do that. Stop touching that. Stop banging on that. Stop screaming. I SAID STOP SCREAMING!" Multiplied by a dozen families or more depending on when you're in there. It can be a headache-inducing, stress-elevating, head-banging cacophony. *sigh*

Kaylee and I sat and watched some of her videos from her website from when she was little. She looked at a couple of them and said "awww, I was cute!" At the end of one of them, I said "way to go, Kaylee! Big girl!" and she looked at me and sounded almost surprised when she said "awww, you love me." Yes, yes I do, and I told her I'm just as proud of her when she walks into a new place with her head up or does a great round-off or gets an A on her spelling test as I was when she pulled herself up on the couch for the first time or walked to me without help. Moms are just like that, but we do learn not to say "BIG girl!!" in public lest we embarrass them. :)

Some quotes that have come in lately...
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"Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break. Believe the best rather than the worst; people have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them. Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends."
~Jane Wells

"It is said that grace enters the soul through a wound."
~Heather McDonald

Overcoming Obstacles:

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”
~Thomas Paine

“Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight.”
~Helen Keller

“Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle.”
~Ken Hakuta

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, that lasts forever."
~Lance Armstron