Grateful 26-33

26. My ass. For sitting.

27. My new bike skirt, for protecting my ass. Padded shorts underneath, you see. And cute as a BUTTon.

28. I went to South Haven, and saw the tall ships. It wasn't part of the plan, I was just killing time while Richard worked. And there she was, floating down the channel, while I crossed the street. Tourist pirates.

29. Hot. See previous post.

30. Honest car repairs. I love Woodward's garage. Fluids needed changing, and things needed checking. The old place seemed to have a flat $500 fee no matter what, so that's what we were prepared to pay. However, the actual cost at Woodward's was 1/5 of that. Richard actually asked, did you do what I mentioned? and they were quite amused.
31. Co-workers.

32. Cell phones

33. Air conditioning.

I lost my notebook, but I am still grateful.

It's probably on my desk at work. I am sure the cleaning crew is either ignoring it, has shredded it, or wonders what kind of maniac draws pictures of calendars in a notebook and has lists that say things like, "cucumber, cat filters, Calvin Klein shoes."

I think I might be beating the grateful thing into the ground. It does bring up topics for musing, though. For example, if I were to continue in this way, I would need to write about how I am grateful for Michigan summers, for which I am sincerely not. But couldn't I make it so if I were to write a pretty circle around it? Someone likes these summers. Why not me?

And what's not to like? It's warm, lush, green, humid. There are places that are actually hotter. We have lovely lakes all around to jump into. In fact, I am ignoring an invitation to the pool as we speak, (idiotically). The nights cool down, a little. If don't move at all, you can sort of sleep through them.

Or better yet, you can stay up all night, preferably with some cold drinks and good friends. It's hard when you've got a straight day job, but everyone's a little worked up and sweaty, so they might not notice.

And best of all, the unbearable days don't last all summer. Usually it's just a week or so at a time.

Watermelon.

Air conditioned offices and shopping. Movies. Library.

I can totally do this.

I can't remember what number I'm on.

Perhaps 25?  I mean for the gratefulness countdown. That's what my old-timey notebook says, anyway, the one where I scrawl my little notes. It says the 25 is compliments.

I used to say I was a compliment whore, but that seems a little harsh. I do enjoy feedback. Perhaps especially praise.  I vaguely remember taking some job compatibility testing before or early in college and learning that I could not predict which way gears should turn, but that I did enjoy working with people and lots and lots of feedback. I have found that to be true still. However, let me state that Richard has gone overboard in the last month or so. Too much praise is embarrassing.

24. Curly hair. I really had to struggle to come around on this one. I was totally hating my horrible unpredictable curling-like-a-90s-spiral-perm hair. But then I got a little trim and it's all nice again. Or maybe, the humidity is down. Whatever.

23. Pretty pink clouds. Sunset. Obvious. If only pictures could capture it.

22. Polite society. Because I went to an actually enjoyable wedding shower.

I'm not sure if this will buzz or not. Google is changing things all around, and you know I have to jump into that pool before I read the danger signs. Oh shoot, is this the deep end?

Grateful 21: Talent vs. work

In this dichotomy, I suppose I am thankful for the middle ground between them, because I'm not sure that I have one driving talent. I always thought it was encouraging (interesting, relieving, etc.) that you could make up for a lack of talent with work. Or practice, at least.

Or maybe talent is not what I think it is. It should be easy, right? Or something you can do naturally? Or maybe it's more subtle than that, and it's just something that you can work on and improve.

It always amuses me that my father thinks my greatest talent is singing. This is most likely because he hasn't really heard me sing. I am not claiming to be horrible. But he's got a slightly inflated idea of what it would be like. This puts me in a difficult position because if I actually do as he'd like and take voice lessons, I could make him very happy, or disappoint us both. What if I really CAN'T sing well? Then what talent would I have?

It's a silly point because I'm too busy. Unless the vocal coach has shower appointments....

I told you there'd be pictures someday!

Grateful 20: My neighborhood. This house was for sale around the corner, but apparently has sold. There's a big dumpster in the driveway, which is actually one of the things I like about the historic homes. There's room for improvement, decline, amazing paint colors, homemade duck cut-outs, and bands. I went for a run this morning and noticed that the apartment buildling on Lovell that I used to visit quite regularly to see a friend around 1999-2000 has had a garden explosion since then - lilies lining the sidewalk have turned into almost all lawn areas being perennial beds. There's young families all around us, and they socialize and play together. When my terracotta planter got used as a shot-put one night, I got an apology from the head of the neighborhood association.  Have I talked you into buying the vacant house on the end of our lot?

Grateful 19: new beginnings

See, I can just jump in where I left off. No one will be injured. I was still grateful most of those days. It will be fine.

And it's the perfect time and place to have a new beginning! Six months left in the year. I really would like to get a few things experienced. Note that I didn't say "done". I'm done doing. Do do. I remember getting really stressed out about my busy busy social calendar once and having the breakthrough that those were supposed to be enjoyable events! It was okay to enjoy them. And if you have 3 events in one day, you were going to have a wonderful day.

So, my July resolutions include running fast and long, getting rid of some clutter, and speaking up. This week I want to try and choreograph a whole belly dance song and start cornering the boss with daily reports. I'm going to go