10 More Lessons (whoosh! Almost done!)

1. You know, life is really, really, really short. It only seems long during the last week of classes.
2. Don't sweat the small stuff.
3. The small things are really important. This may seem to contradict #2, but what I mean is, just loving the feeling of your son's head gently resting on your arm: important. Getting mad at same son because his room is dirty or because he spilled water all over the floor: not important.
4. Some things CAN wait until tomorrow: grading papers, cleaning the bathroom, oh, other things.
5. Take time to run in the snow. Or hang out and drink coffee. Or sing really loud in your car. I mean, if you like it, do it. If you don't like it, you may still have to do it, because chances are it's your job.
6. Remember that no ONE thing is your life. Your life isn't your job or your relationships or where you live or what you do, but an amazing combination of all these things. So if one thing changes, you can handle it.
   
7. You should do situps. You really should.
   
8. Give and receive compliments. When someone compliments you, smile and say thank you. Surprisingly, this is often harder than giving compliments.
9. Stress relief is not optional. Find the thing that relieves the pressure and then make that thing a priority: running, Crossfit, writing, alone time. This is a necessity. It's right behind breathing and drinking water.
10. It's all about the people. At the end of the day, you can replace anything you bought, you can buy a new one, you can find a different meal/book/entertainment option. But without your peeps, friends, family, community, who cares? It's all about the people. I'm blessed to have such good ones. Thanks!
    

Giving Thanks: An Abecediary

I stole this idea from Hightouchmegastore.

A...Apples. On which I have nearly subsisted lately.
B...Books. What would I be without them?
C...Crossfit. Enough said.
D...Dessert. Of all kinds.
E...Eggs. I eat so many of them. So often. I wish I could have chickens.
F...Friends & Family. I am blessed to have so many friends from various parts of my life: work, crossfit, writing, running. I especially miss my family at this time of year.
G...Glee. Yes, the TV show. Don't laugh.
H...husband. He's a prince among men. He does laundry, dishes and sort of makes dinner. And now he does crossfit, so he's pretty much perfect.
I...Iceland. Because it gave us my favorite mystery writer, Arnaldur Indridason.
J...Jerks. Without them, I wouldn't be able to feel superior.
K...kitchen. For cooking and baking and standing around talking.
L...laughter. Especially of the kid variety, but I'll take any kind.
M...music. I like to listen.
N...Nutritionist. I've learned how to eat. Finally.
O...Obama.
P...pie: pumpkin, apple, peach, cherry. The list goes on.
Q...Quizzes. Because I need to know which '80s song I am.
R...Ross. One of the true joys of life is when your 8 year old "too cool" son wants to sit on your lap and praises your cuddles. God I wish I could stop time.
S...students: a few make up for the many. And thank god.
T...Thanksgiving. Yeah for turkey and a reason to eat mashed potatoes.
U...Utah. Home sweet home.
V...vino. Of all kinds.
W...Writing. Keeps me sane, makes me crazy.
X...too X-rated to say. Let your imagination run wild.
Y...You.
Z...zebras. Why not?

I Love Coffee!

I didn't post yesterday, but for good measure let's just say that yesterday I was thankful to reach a milestone in end of the semester hoops (almost done!) and that I was also thankful that we found the place we got our tree last year, a local garden shop and the tree was less than $50 (which seems to be the starting price?!), and it took us about half-an-hour.

Today, I am thankful for coffee. MB tipped me off to this cool & funny tribute to coffee, which I share with you. Today I'm going to finish grading and decorate the tree (it's small and really quite adorable). Then I'll take Gus for a walk (off leash!), and then go to Book Club. I'm thankful for all these little gems in my life (dog, books, friends, canyons, etc.).

"This is My Boss"

After all the eating and the coffee drinking, after the Monopoly and the wine, I settled down to watch some SlateV (read: sla-TV). I ended up watching some Charlie Rose. I most enjoyed Neil Young and Steve Martin for the following reasons: Neil Young said that song writing is his job, "This is my boss," he said, which reminded me of all the discussions lately about who is or is not the boss of me. It seems right, somehow, that creativity be ones boss. Young said that if he has an idea he'll just get up and go work, no matter what's going on. "It's a gift," he said. "And you can't just let it sit there." So that's one.
Then Steve Martin talked about how he stopped doing stand up because he had nothing to say. He continued talking and then he said he and an artist friend were exploring the similarities between making art and therapy. His friend replied there was one difference: with therapy, you want to retain your discoveries, and with art, you abandon them.
Those seem like two truths worthy of Thanksgiving Day: your gift is the boss of you, and you make discoveries in order to abandon them, to move on.
I'm thankful for all of you, for all of your abundant gifts, for your presence in my life.
Thank you!

Cultural Diversity: Yes, it exists!

I love to go to the Asian Market in town. Mostly because I know that soon after I will be enjoying some delicious food.
Today at the Asian Market I had one of those experiences that made me do a double take. I was wandering around the aisles looking for curry paste and bamboo shoots when I heard a man ask, "Finito?" I looked up to see an older Asian gentleman talking to the young Latino boy who worked there. The boy gestured to the cart he was pushing and said, "Si, finito."
Sometimes I think I live in a place that is not all that diverse. Other times, like today, I'm amazed how much mixing of cultures takes place, in many small ways, every day. This experience made me feel nostalgic for all the times I traveled overseas: my first trip out of the US to Korea, my vacation in Thailand, backpacking around Europe, last Christmas in Spain.
There is something wonderfully alienating about being in a place where everything is new: the food, the language, the culture. There is also something awesome (in the literal sense) about being immersed in another world.
After I witnessed this exchange, I wandered the aisles just looking at everything. I love the unfamiliar smells: the sharp tang of unknown spices; the mixing (in the aisles) of food from many cultures, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian; the strange flavors of potato chips (shrimp!); the delightful confections (Pocky!).
When I first moved here, I drove all over town one day looking for ingredients for Thai food: galangal, lime leaves, Thai basil. Now I go to one place. The superstores of Asian markets. I haven't been there in awhile. I guess curry is really a winter food.
But this holiday season, I plan on trying to cook big meals from all the kinds of food I love: an Indian curry, Mexican tamales, and probably at least one more Thai curry.
I'm thankful I live in a city with such a diverse selection of food (and restaurants)!

The Actual Day

Somehow, Son managed to let us sleep until 8-ish. Then I had to bolt out of bed (okay, bolting may be a bit strong), eat something, drink some coffee, and somehow convince Middlebrow and Son to accompany me to the Race.
Well, they did. They dropped me off by the Capitol and went to get coffee before meeting me at the finish line. I liked this Thanksgiving Day race. Lots of families, running and walking, lots of groups taking pictures at the start. I especially liked the runners with turkey hats. I saw only one person I recognized, and I knew her from Son's school.
It was a jam packed race, and I was passing people the whole way, which made me feel good. Much of it was uphill (at least half) and the second half was downhill. Hooray! I felt pretty good about the race and when I checked the results, just now, I won the "Athena" category. For those of you not in the know, that means I weigh over 150 pounds! Crazy! Yes! But hey. At least I can win something. Though I have to say I felt like throwing up when I got to the finish. But then I had some water and a few bites of pumpkin bagel. All good.
We put the turkey in at 1, etc, etc, etc. Now I am boiling the carcass for all it's worth. I think I will make soup, though I can't say what kind. Maybe turkey with rice? turkey with noodles? unknown.
All the food was great: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce from a can, homemade pie with whipped cream. Delicious.
We are all thankful for many things: food, family, health. But son's list was my favorite: theaters, so we can see movies, our house, turkey drumsticks, and Harry Potter.
I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, one and all.
Let the insane Holiday Season begin.

Being Thankful

Seven Things I'm Thankful For

1. Rainy days: I like to stay inside and drink tea. And think about running, but not actually go running because, you know, it's raining.
2. Reading: Along with drinking tea, I read Son the rest of Harry Potter (the 2nd) today. It's difficult, to read out loud for a long time, but it was fun. I enjoyed that Son was so into it and that he wanted me to finish.
3. Breakfast: I love to go out for breakfast. We had some friends in town, what shall I name them? Conservation Man and Idaho Teacher. We all went out for breakfast. It wasn't the best breakfast I'd had there, but it was good. And Son ate all his breakfast and a side of bacon and a side of fruit. Dining out for breakfast is fun. It just is.
4. Food: I'm not hungry. At Son's school, we are doing a project for the food bank, making snack packs for kids who eat free lunch at school. Apparently, over the holiday breaks, many of these kids don't get enough to eat. I'm thankful that Son has enough to eat, even if he's not always aware or thankful. And I'm thankful that his school cares enough to have the kids do service projects. In first grade! Maybe these kids can change the world!
5. My family: I'm not always as thankful as I should be for them. All of them. I have great sisters and parents and a great husband and a great Son.
   
6. My brain: Even though I often feel stupid, and use the word "idiotic" about myself too often, I know I'm not stupid. So I thank my brain for still working and for getting me this far. You deserve a break! But please don't take one. Not yet.
7. Writing: Even though I'm feeling discouraged these days, sometimes writing feels like a gift. Like when I've been discouraged and think I suck, and then one day I sit down and write something, and I have no idea where it came from or why. Those are the good days. I think there are more on the horizon. (Cue the George Michael:) I just gotta have faith.