Thankful: Never Mind the Cliché

Thankfulness. It's a word you expect to hear this month and next. Comfort comes in the expected. Traditions are all about living up to expectations. Like a new year's resolution, we often say from now on we'll be thankful all year long and not just during the holidays. Yep, just like a resolution we often break the vow. OK. I'll stop speaking for you. I often go back to taking my blessings for granted.

But cliché or not, whether I slip up and break my resolve or not, I'm shouting out thankfulness today and beyond.

(May I be really cliché and make a list? Count my blessings? Name a few of my favorite things? Good. I knew you wouldn't mind. You made your list already, didn't you?)

I'm Thankful for:

1. finding what I seek at the grocery store

2. having a grocery store where I can go shopping

3. having the money to spend to buy food at the grocery store

4. having the freedom to spend the money that I have to go to the grocery store to buy food

(see, I'm not complaining that I have been to three grocery stores in three days getting ready for Thanksgiving!)

5. having a day off from work to rest and get over a cold

6. having a job that allows me to take a sick day when I need to get well

7. having a job that gives me paid sick leave so that when I take a day off I don't lose money

(again, not complaining that I'm sick!)

8. owning a washer and dryer

9. owning a washer and dryer that work

10. owning a working washer and dryer so that I don't have to haul my laundry to the laundromat or to my mother's house

(guess who got to do laundry yesterday?)

11. reaching the end of evening sickness, aka morning sickness

12. reaching the end of evening sickness and entering the 2nd trimester of pregnancy

13. reaching the end of evening sickness while entering my 2nd trimester and enjoying food again

(though experiencing some acid reflux, burping, and continued fatigue)

14. getting a good night's rest

15. getting a good night's rest in fuzzy sheets

16. getting a good night's rest in fuzzy sheets and not having to get out of bed while it is still dark

(hurray for holiday vacations!)

17. spending time with family on Thanksgiving

18. spending time with family over a holiday that includes lots of great food to eat

19. spending time with family for Thanksgiving and actually wanting to eat all the great food!

(thankfully I am not making the majority of the food!)

20. the little one growing inside of me

Next year over the holidays Luke and I get to be thankful all the more as we celebrate with our son or daughter. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby Rattles and a New Career

Getting ready for a baby means more than fixing up a room, figuring finances, and forging through a list of names. In our house we have done little of those, except some name hunting. Our current preparation revolves around my body- that and playful banter about who will get to stay home with the baby.

This summer, before we decided to start making a baby, we went to several doctors to see if we should even think about it. Our biggest concern: my past battle with blood clots. (click here to read all about that). An appointment with a hematologist got me breathing comfortably. "Have a baby; kids are wonderful; I have three"- he was supportive. But, there was a catch: Get ready for needle pokes in your stomach again. 

A month of stinging has passed and I'm bravely facing the seconds of pain. This go around I only have to get once-a-day injections and they don't bruise anywhere close to what some of the last ones did. And Luke and I have the routine down pretty well. In fact, I keep saying he's the brave one. No signs of fainting, no hesitation before he puts the needle into my skin. He jokes that he even looks forward to it. Good thing, I suppose, considering we have months and months to go. And as we get close to when I could deliver, I'll get a change in type and dosage and return to the twice-a-day routine. Pretty much one day at a time works for me. As for Luke, he's excitedly pondering other ways he can use his newfound skill.

They say the average person will change careers seven times. (OK, it really depends on the website where you check this statistic. Some say that seven is ridiculous; others say it's really only three.) Ahem. The average person changes careers three times. Well, Luke isn't who I would call an average person, but he talks frequently about changing careers. (How many times can one really deal with the frustration of computers? Actually, how many times can one deal with the frustation of computer users without walking- no, running- away, screaming?) 

Luke's latest and greatest idea for a new career? Phlebotomy. The joy he could have in sticking needles into many people, all day long! With me, he even has a crafty little mantra: Pinch up the skin; stick it in; count to ten. Imagine the clever words he could come up with for drawing blood. 

Yes, I think he's on to something here, especially since it means he would work and I would stay home!  Unless he comes up with a way to open an in-house clinic. Hmm. I better start a new strategy. 

So whatever he decides about a job, right now these syringes and needles are starting to pile up by our bed. We don't have an official sharps container, but the pharmacist told us how to improvise. Of course, we aren't using her suggestion. Our method involves filling empty Gatorade bottles. We plan to seal them tight, with tape or something, and then dispose of them. The problem is that they're clear, so anyone can see what's inside. Of course the safety is activated on each syringe, so the needle is no longer sticking out. 

Looking at these bottles, Luke one day picked one up and shook it. "Baby's first rattle," he said, blue eyes twinkling. Maybe we can go into the toy business?