Blog vacation is now over

We've had a very eventful week here in the Funaki household. We had houseguests (I'll post about this a little later), celebrated my birthday three times, and then more houseguests. And never-ending laundry. In fact, when one guest was needing to shower before leaving, we didn't even have a clean towel to offer. Every SINGLE towel was in the wash. And we have a lot of towels. [I don't recall ever having called people houseguests.]

Today marks one-month of a little project I've been doing. Like many people, I want to focus more on gratitude and so for the last 30 days, I've recorded 4 things I felt grateful for that day. I also included one or two "Please"s, things I was hoping for or needing…that way, when a "please" came to pass, I would see that the desires of my heart are in fact granted. A "please" then easily becomes a "thank you for." Don't know if any of that made sense, but hopefully it did.

Anyway, since I finished 30 days today, I read through all the previous pages of lists. Here are some excerpts that I most enjoyed reading again and remembering how I felt that day. (I like lists, can you tell?)

18 things I've been grateful for in the month of August, in no particular order:

1. having a fellow fat friend to go swimming with. [you know who you are]
   
2. our little HOT walk to the park today. Opportunity to teach the kids about the pioneer children.
3. Symonie's famous Chocolate Decadent cake. Yum-o.
4. my very patient husband. Can I say this enough? I would knock me out if I were him.
5. the foresight I had last month to make an extra lasagna and throw it in the freezer.
6. my husband's willingness to go to the store at 10:30 pm to get milk.
7. getting to see Mom and Dad today for a few minutes. I miss them.
8. old people who make random comments in Sunday School.
9. my cute nieces who love me—and I love them.
10. early birthday presents! And packages in the mail!
11. apologies. One always improves a situation.
12. lotion. My dry skin without it = unhappy me.
13. phone calls from far-away (and not-so-far) relatives or friends. Being greeted by a familiar voice is so nice. Actually, these days, being greeted by a human voice is nice.
14. my daughter's curiosity.
15. clearance bins.
16. Andes mints.
17. my son who never stops loving me, no matter how frustrated and disappointed I become with him.
18. markers. When it comes to keeping kids busy & quiet in church, it's the best 99 cents I've spent.

I've really enjoyed this experience, as it has helped me to focus on all that I have. Just like Sheryl Crow sings,

"It's not getting what you want. . .
it's wanting what you've got."

I think I'll continue for another 30 days, and who knows, maybe indefinitely. I'm sure I'll have some repeats on the lists. You know, there are some things I'm just really thankful for. Something that has already made it on the list more than once, in addition to diet Coke and king-sized bed, is none other than the modern convenience of: washing machine.

P.S. That picture up there is not of me, in case you were wondering what happened to me. Doing-laundry Lindy is never that happy. And the picture is not of my houseguest either. I really like that word! I've really got to go to bed.