Danke schoen!

Today of all days I fully realize I have an incredible amount of things to be grateful for! I am especially thankful that the sonogram (when did those things stop being called ultrasounds?) I had last week of my spleen, gall bladder, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and aorta came back normal. I had been feeling so much pain in my abdomen that I actually didn’t believe the doc at first when he let me know (so far) there has been no damage to those organs! This disease has physically worn me out, and I have had this nasty cold I caught from a college kid who sneezed on me at a blood drive (and yes, I actually felt his sputum splattering me!). However, the relief is so great I am in a floaty almost beatifically calm place now…well at least for now…ah well calmness has never been my forte…

So in the spirit of yesterday I would like to list all of the things I am thankful for. So if you care to read on…

…I am thankful for:

my extended family, edamame, the strength of my mother, really cool old twisty trees, Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser, the way ducks sound like they’re laughing, bonfires, badmington, my bro Joe for just being Joe, Halloween decorations, a good book, Tom for being one of the few husbands I know that will clean a toilet, the Bible, Van Gogh, flashlights, the way I rapid-fire sneeze, the Rosetta stone, my parent’s house, Howard Carter and King Tut, cool emails from caring people, the fact that my dad always put my Easter eggs in easy hiding places, little red Miatas, Subway, laughing at stuff with my Gram, my third grade teacher Mrs Wright’s song about a hippopotamus, shopping at Kohl’s with my Ma, my Einsteinian hair that I like to call “the beast”, drift wood, Banff Canada, late night yakking sessions in college, that really big bookstore in Portland Oregon, Winston Churchill, little cocktail dresses, my seventh grade Sunday school class, the diverse and wild mix of my friends, Chinese food, the ability to teach a subject that I care about, Paul Klee’s Twittering Machine, the phrases “ah hells no” and “by crackey” and “for cry bones!”, homecoming dances, Frank Lloyd Wright, the way my relatives used to sing the hymn Dona Nobis Pacem, trendy clothes, Theodore Roosevelt, people who put up with me and my weird ways, pretzels and dip, the Louis and Clark trail (in Missouri), American flags, smores, costume parties, Pixar, knowing how to swim, the positive vibe of Ree (my Ma-in law), the collected works of J.R.R. Tolkein, Jesus, the vegan adventures of Janine the Bean, cheese, being able to sleep sitting up, cold fresh air you breathe in when you’re in the mountains, thick fuzzy bathrobes, all of my crazy nicknames (Clydesdale, Cucumber, the Stinkinest, and Motor Mouth are just a few of them!), sonograms, strangers holding the door for me, weight lifting, my old students who take the time to let me know how they are doing, colored picture art from my nieces and nephews, catchup, boca burgers, anything sparkly!…glitter is good, the chanting of Buddhist monks, snow days, Bush’s baked beans, Steve Jackson’s film adaptation of Lord of the Rings, Charlie’s phone calls, the Atlantic ocean, the fact I can still drink red wine on a very limited basis, strong coffee, sketchbooks, mapquest, the way Phoenix neighs at me when I walk into the barn, hostas, dark almost bitter chocolate, wild mushrooms (kuthorches), a Christmas dinner of goose and dumplings and sour kraut, the way Czech language always sounds so naughty (phonetically: “hoo-beetch-koo” means “give me a kiss”), black stiletto heeled boots, Swedish fish, Days of Our Lives (sad, I know), really getting a lot of boogars out when I blow into a kleenex, my Pa (the best man I ever met), Cheech snuggling under the covers, the Bayeux tapestry, the Grand Canyon, cactii, The Martian Chronicles, the Fox River, my Aunt for letting us hang out all the time in her cabin in Wisconsin, Paul McCartney, knowing that the Appalachian trail is out there ready to be walked on, mooing at cows and cows mooing back, English accents, sterling silver artsy-fartsy jewelery, tulips, Jerry’s sense of humor & Mary’s grace, tomatoes, aqueducts, the way my dads brothers are so individualistic while still being so similar, Greek pottery, TiVo, sweaters for my dogs, that I finally understand and enjoy football, fire flies, colorful tights, Jane Goodall and chimpanzees, finding little things to laugh at, that even though I was a snot in first grade Jenni Z still became my friend, really good chocolate chip cookies, long walks on country roads, skeletons, Zelis’ treat dance, how my sister used to make sure I got out of bed in time to go to high school, micro-brewery beer (even though I’m not allowed to drink it anymore), faux fur, the weird almost miraculous-whoah like moments that convince you that there is a higher power,

I am quite sure there is much more, but it is 12:37 AM and I think I finally am ready to shut down the old noodle for the night…
Thank you.