#6 - I am thankful for our favorite pizza place
We frequent a local family restaurant in town, Irene's. We always got pizza and grinders from there but at some point we started going and eating in. The food is delicious and they are great with the girls. When they were younger Kristen loved ravioli but it wasn't on the kids menu. They happily made her a smaller portion.
They know what we order to drink, they know the girls by name, they know that Paul's grinder is "no cheese, no tomato" -- they know US. We go there so much that a couple of sneaky people at work put us on the Irene's menus and strategically placed them on the table when they invited us to join them. The girls LOVED it.
I love that there is a wide variety on the menu, that they make the best soup, and that everything tastes so good.
Over the summer, the girls were traveling with my parents and Paul and I went for a late dinner. One of our usual servers asked where the girls were. Then she went on to say "I love your family, you have the best dynamic, you interact the whole time you're here" We were caught completely off guard. We thanked her for noticing and for mentioning it to us. She went on to say that she sees so many people sitting at the table but not interacting - that they are all on their phones. She mentioned our Tic Tac Toe and Hangman games and how we talk to each other and that is makes her smile.
I left Irene's that night full - my stomach and my heart - full.
#6 - I am thankful for our favorite pizza place
#5 - I am thankful for Google Maps
Last weekend we traveled to Massachusetts for a wedding. Our friends graciously invited us to stay with them AND to take the girls.
Paul hadn't been to their house in years. We also needed to get from their house, to the church, and to the reception location and then BACK to their house!
Before the days of google maps -- it would have been phone calls, directions written on a sheet of notebook paper and .. I don't even really remember how you figured out how to get anywhere without using the internet or Google maps.
I think I used AAA or my Dad, my Dad knows how to get anywhere. Well, there was that time he had an old map and we almost froze to death on a logging road in Upstate NY (that's a story for another post) but other than that he knows how to get anywhere.
#5 - I am thankful for Google Maps
#4 - I am thankful for quiet mornings
I'm often the first one up in Romanskiville regardless of weekday or weekend. I head downstairs, start the coffee and walk the dog. I curl up with a book, catch up on laundry, pay bills, meal prep or something else on the "to do's". Sometimes it's only 15 minutes and sometimes it's an hour ... but that time gives me a chance to think, plan, problem solve with out any distraction. Sometimes I just get to take in the view...
#4 - I am thankful for quiet mornings
#3 - I am thankful for our family photographs
I try to be so good about taking pictures of concerts, halloween costumes, birthday parties and Christmas morning. We have thousands of pictures from before we were married til now.
Thing is, when you're the one taking the pictures you aren't in the pictures or I'm in the picture but Paul isn't.
Lucky for us, a close friend and neighbor has taken an interest in photography and has a sweet camera. She often thinks to bring it along and then makes it a point to take pictures of the 4 of us.
Don't get me wrong -- we have those thousands of pictures of all those magical moments .. but the ones of the 4 of us .. those are my absolute favorites.
#3 - I am thankful for our family photographs
#2 - I am thankful for my work family
I mentioned that earlier this week we had a pretty serious storm. We have some damage to the truck and the Honda but we were pretty much unscathed. A close friend had a gigantic tree fall across her driveway and take down wires.
She has been without power, water, heat, and her car since Sunday night. Thinking she might get attention fairly quickly given the lines were wrapped in the tree and a hazard she stayed home on Monday.
Tuesday, co-workers picked her up on their way in. She showered at another co-worker's house. She took my car at lunch to get water, duraflame logs, and something to cook on her gas stove. I took her home that afternoon ... but I had to fight for the privilege because there were so many people who were willing to pitch in and lend a hand.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw no change in the situation ... not ETA on when Eversource might be able to get there to clear the mess.
We continued to be her unofficial UBER drivers. It is just what we do for each other. It is exactly what SHE would do if one of us were in jam. She would have rolled up her sleeves and made a plan to solve the current situation.
The 10 years before I went to the college, I worked from home. I worked with great people there too -- but they couldn't pick me up and drive me to or from work. They couldn't dog sit or come to my house on Christmas Eve day and read books with the girls. They couldn't take the girls for a Sunday afternoon to make surprise Christmas crafts.
I've been on the receiving end of so much generosity in the last 3 years. I - we - are so fortunate to have landed where we have.
#2 - I am thankful for my work family
November 1st .... the beginning of Thirty Days of Thanks.
#1 - I am thankful for power .. like electricity
Sunday night, we had a terrible storm. Trees down, roads closed, utility poles snapped, school cancellations and delays on Monday. A large tree limb fell and damaged 2 of our 3 vehicles.
We never lost power. Not. Even. A. Blink.
I have a friend who has 2 large trees wrapped in electric wires blocking her driveway. She has no power. That means no water. She can't get her car down her driveway.
So tonight's "I am thankful for..." was easy!
#30daysofthanks
#1 - I am thankful for power .. like electricity
8:37 pm.
That's what time Paul got home from work tonight. Last night was 8:15 and the night before was 8:30. I think there was one night last week where he got home about 7:40. We aren't even close to "peak" season.
Brooke gets home from school around 3:40 and I grab Kristen with a minute or 2 to spare before 5. Homework, dinner, walk the dog, feed the dog, laundry, unpacking from everyone's day ... some nights there is dance, some nights a meeting, there is thirty-one work to do, and showers, prep for the next day.
These super late nights were just something that happened occasionally until the beginning of September when Paul's start time changed. Now those 7:30 nights are a cause for celebration.
Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining .... I am very aware that there are a lot of women out there doing this single-handed, 24 x 7. Some of these women are my friends - I'm so impressed by their strength and determination but mostly their stamina! I have a friend who sends her man out to sea for months at time. I'm so thankful that mine comes home every night.
I'm grateful that he does the dishes and cleans the kitchen before he heads out in the morning. I love that he gets up at 6 am to spend 35 minutes working out with me in the gym that he built in our basement. My heart sings when the very first thing he does when he walks through the door is head to kiss the girls.
I can see they miss having him around at night. They text him for an ETA. They start to peek out the window as it gets close. They squeal with glee when they hear the front door open.
This will get easier as they get older, they'll stay up later. They will be busier at night with work, school clubs, friends, and eventually they won't need us to chauffeur.
For now, it is forcing us to pick and choose how we spend the precious little time we have together. It is so hard to balance and prioritize and sometimes we make unpopular decisions. People judge. People take your choices personally. People say you are selfish.
About a year ago, Paul and I made a very conscious decision to make some changes - we were running ourselves ragged trying to make every event, accept every invitation and we weren't always focused on the four of us.
The last year has been one of our best. We've been present for each other in ways we weren't before. Our kids are thriving. Our marriage is solid.
We got through one of the most hectic and crazy months I can remember - together.
9:44 pm - He's just finished eating dinner .... in 20 minutes we'll head upstairs and get ready for bed ... because that 5:30 am alarm comes early
