30 Days of Thanks: Days 2 - 9

Day 2: My health. Sure, I have an assy sinus infection that is cramping my style. I had to walk across campus to a meeting (yes I am still going to work) and I had to stop so I could cough. My sinuses are constantly draining and it can cause me to cough in the grossest way possible. And it hits at the worst times--like mid-sentence. But... it's a cold. It will pass. I don't have to deal with this everyday--just when it hits. So, overall, my health is pretty damn good.

Day 3: My past. Before I moved here I got rid of a bunch of stuff I had been carting around for years. I got rid of it because I thought that part of my life was over. It is, technically, but now that part of my life is coming back. Part of me wishes now I hadn't gotten rid of that stuff, but it's just stuff. What's more important is the rediscovery of the places, events, and people that shaped me into who I am.

Day 4: My view. I know, it is probably a little shallow, but I do have one of the best views in the world.

My view

Day 5: Free time. This quarter has been crazy busy and it is probably one of the reasons I'm sick. But I still have the time to sit on my couch with a cat at my feet and a computer in my lap and type up what I am the most thankful for.

Day 6: Family. Predictable. But not just my immediate family, I'm talking extended family. Seeing a handful of my cousins over the summer was great. These are people I normally only see when someone dies. And then everyone comments that they need to do under happier circumstances. Well, I went back to Iowa, and my visit snowballed from seeing immediate family to getting together almost half of the cousins on one day. At the end of that day, one of my cousins thanked me, because my visit was the spark that started the whole family gathering. Most of my cousins are significantly older than me and we have different world views. But... we have so much in common. Despite our age differences, we have similar memories with our grandparents and ever with our parents. One even thanked me for all the years I put up my grandmother's Christmas tree because she knew Grandma couldn't do it on her own, and Christmas would never be the same with out Grandma's Christmas tree (and all the accessories that had to be placed in the same exact place every single year).

Day 7: My friends. Again, predictable. But throughout my life, my friends have helped make me who I am. I cherish all of them more than they probably know.

Day 8: Students. Some days they drive me completely crazy. And other days they are beyond awesome. Sometimes it's having a student ask about citation style... And twenty minutes later I've taught the her the difference between paraphrasing and direct quotes and helped her understand her assignment and how she should be approaching it. Other times it's having a student refer to something I showed them in class three weeks ago--and they referred to it correctly. This happened to me this week and it took every little bit of self control I had to not jump up and down and squeal: "Oh my god, you actually listened to me!"

Day 9: Sanity prevailed. The Personhood Amendment in Mississippi failed and failed miserably. Ohio rejected a law limiting the bargaining rights of public employees.