Sleep is my friend. I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise person. I fall asleep quickly, and sleep soundly--at least that has been my modus operandi for the past few decades. As I'm finding out, age plays a cruel trick on sleep patterns. It's now not uncommon for me to actually awaken when I roll over in the middle of the night, and then not be able to get back to sleep. I don't even have to be worried about anything. I'm just awake.
Of course, the stillness of the night provides a quiet canvas on which to write, so let me tell you this week's ten things of thankful:
1. I spent time this week with my granddaughters at Disneyland. I'm thankful to live close enough to the girls to see them frequently, and thankful I can share the magic of Disneyland with them. Yes, they are young, but they enjoy the sights and sounds--and admission for the under-3 set is free.
2. Of course, real life goes on even while I'm inside the park. My mom called me to tell me of some health challenges for my grandma, and also for my uncle. I'm thankful for medical care, and for family. My parents "celebrated" their 52nd wedding anniversary apart, while united in their love of family--my mom with her mom, and my dad with his brother.
3. Tuesday brought an opportunity for one of our children. Though I won't elaborate, this is a really good thing, and a huge thankful.
4. I'm thankful that my problems can remind me that I really am fortunate. Last week's plumbing problem is fixed. How easy it is to take for granted properly-draining pipes. Both of my parents had out-houses during their early childhoods. Even now, many people in other parts of the world do not have the luxury of indoor plumbing. A slow-draining pipe is an annoyance, but really, who am I to complain?
5. I'm thankful that my problems can remind me that I really am fortunate. The refrigerator remains on the fritz. The repairman has ordered a dye that he will inject into the cooling system, to help him determine where the leak is. If it is in an accessible location, he should be able to repair it. If not, we go to plan B. I'd really like to stick to plan A, but again, who am I to complain? Household refrigeration, like indoor plumbing, is a fairly recent invention and not necessarily ubiquitous world-wide.
6. I'm thankful my dad wasn't mortally injured.
7. I'm thankful for facebook, which let me know that I should be thankful for #6. (Now, Mom, I know you didn't want to call all of us in the middle of the night, but we really would like the backstory on your post! You mentioned the power company and that Dad escaped mortal injury?! Is Dad OK? What happened?)
8. I'm thankful for my mom. I know that my #7 is going to send her into full-apologetic mode, so let me just say, "Mom, it's OK!" To know my mom is to love her. She's had a rough week, and a vague facebook post is certainly understandable. (Should I send you some chocolate, Mom?)
9. I'm thankful for the chance I will have later today to watch the General Women's Meeting. I always come away from this meeting inspired, encouraged, and ready to tackle the world. I will watch it at my local church building, but it can also be viewed on lds.org.
10. I'm thankful, as always, for John. Even though date nights are a well-established tradition for us, every weekend, John will ask me, "Do you want to go out with me tonight?" I haven't turned him down yet, and never will.
For date night last night, we started with Chinese food. John's fortune cookie gave him a good fortune, but I'm not sure what to think about mine.
John's:
Mine:
John suggested maybe a nice, gentle breeze, as opposed to a hurricane. :-)
After dinner, we browsed in a thrift store, then watched the movie, "The Hundred-Foot Journey." We both thought it was very good. It wasn't a heavy movie, but it had substance through character development. Helen Mirren and the other actors did a great job. John and I ended the evening with ice cream.
And then, I was foolish enough to suggest that perhaps we could sleep in a bit on Saturday morning. Ha! Insomnia showed me! Of course, now that the sun is almost up, I am starting to get a little sleepy again. Does it count as sleeping in, if you've been up half the night and then crawl back into bed?
Thanks for another week of the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop. Please consider joining us; we'd love to hear all about your thankfuls!
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Of course, the stillness of the night provides a quiet canvas on which to write, so let me tell you this week's ten things of thankful:
1. I spent time this week with my granddaughters at Disneyland. I'm thankful to live close enough to the girls to see them frequently, and thankful I can share the magic of Disneyland with them. Yes, they are young, but they enjoy the sights and sounds--and admission for the under-3 set is free.
 |
| At the end of a long day, but at least no one is crying. |
2. Of course, real life goes on even while I'm inside the park. My mom called me to tell me of some health challenges for my grandma, and also for my uncle. I'm thankful for medical care, and for family. My parents "celebrated" their 52nd wedding anniversary apart, while united in their love of family--my mom with her mom, and my dad with his brother.
3. Tuesday brought an opportunity for one of our children. Though I won't elaborate, this is a really good thing, and a huge thankful.
4. I'm thankful that my problems can remind me that I really am fortunate. Last week's plumbing problem is fixed. How easy it is to take for granted properly-draining pipes. Both of my parents had out-houses during their early childhoods. Even now, many people in other parts of the world do not have the luxury of indoor plumbing. A slow-draining pipe is an annoyance, but really, who am I to complain?
5. I'm thankful that my problems can remind me that I really am fortunate. The refrigerator remains on the fritz. The repairman has ordered a dye that he will inject into the cooling system, to help him determine where the leak is. If it is in an accessible location, he should be able to repair it. If not, we go to plan B. I'd really like to stick to plan A, but again, who am I to complain? Household refrigeration, like indoor plumbing, is a fairly recent invention and not necessarily ubiquitous world-wide.
6. I'm thankful my dad wasn't mortally injured.
7. I'm thankful for facebook, which let me know that I should be thankful for #6. (Now, Mom, I know you didn't want to call all of us in the middle of the night, but we really would like the backstory on your post! You mentioned the power company and that Dad escaped mortal injury?! Is Dad OK? What happened?)
8. I'm thankful for my mom. I know that my #7 is going to send her into full-apologetic mode, so let me just say, "Mom, it's OK!" To know my mom is to love her. She's had a rough week, and a vague facebook post is certainly understandable. (Should I send you some chocolate, Mom?)
9. I'm thankful for the chance I will have later today to watch the General Women's Meeting. I always come away from this meeting inspired, encouraged, and ready to tackle the world. I will watch it at my local church building, but it can also be viewed on lds.org.
10. I'm thankful, as always, for John. Even though date nights are a well-established tradition for us, every weekend, John will ask me, "Do you want to go out with me tonight?" I haven't turned him down yet, and never will.
For date night last night, we started with Chinese food. John's fortune cookie gave him a good fortune, but I'm not sure what to think about mine.
John's:
Mine:
John suggested maybe a nice, gentle breeze, as opposed to a hurricane. :-)
After dinner, we browsed in a thrift store, then watched the movie, "The Hundred-Foot Journey." We both thought it was very good. It wasn't a heavy movie, but it had substance through character development. Helen Mirren and the other actors did a great job. John and I ended the evening with ice cream.
And then, I was foolish enough to suggest that perhaps we could sleep in a bit on Saturday morning. Ha! Insomnia showed me! Of course, now that the sun is almost up, I am starting to get a little sleepy again. Does it count as sleeping in, if you've been up half the night and then crawl back into bed?
Thanks for another week of the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop. Please consider joining us; we'd love to hear all about your thankfuls!
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Oh Kristi sorry about the insomnia - I never sleep either sometime a Melatonin, chamomile tea or warm milk with some sugar helps - last Tues was bad for me - my mind was racing about my daughters foot. i didn't fight it I got out of bed paid some bills checked out Pinterest for a minute then went to bed... you have many wonderful things this week and yes modern updated plumbing definitely needs to be on the list - we are very lucky ,..congrats to your child and have a lovely weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteI almost always DO sleep, so insomnia is puzzling to me. Fortunately, I'm not worried about things; I'm just awake. Probably not for much longer, though--I'm going to try to head back to bed soon. :-) I do feel sorry for those who consistently can not sleep, though. I'm glad you've found some ways to deal with insomnia.
DeleteKristi, the same thing happened to me last night. Ho hum. I hate that. I, too, am usually an eight hour girl. You are so fortunate to still have your grandmother (and your mother). Family is great. I enjoyed "The Hundred Foot Journey" as well. I love happy endings.
ReplyDeleteI did go back to sleep for a couple of hours this morning, so that helped. Yes, I am fortunate to have both my parents and my grandma still around. I love happy endings, too.
DeleteI feel your pain with insomnia.. I rarely sleep longer than four hours at a stretch.
ReplyDeletePlumbing and refrigeration is still relatively new and not world wide ..It is good to remember how lucky we are.
Oh, yikes! 4 hours isn't much!
DeleteOh, I am anxious to see that movie.
ReplyDeleteI too am thankful your dad was not mortally wounded! Yikes.
Apparently the power company marked where the underground lines were buried, but their marks were not super accurate. My dad hit a line while digging, and blew out a transformer, but miraculously did not get shocked at all.
Deleteso many great things to be thankful for. I have the same sleeping pattern.. it drives me nuts!
ReplyDeleteYes, this waking up in the middle of the night thing is ridiculous!
DeleteHow sweet that he asks you each weekend to go out with him! Tear! I love writing blog posts in the middle of the night while everyone is asleep. I used to love staying up late and then I enjoyed sleep before my first pregnancy and now as a mom, my schedule is all over the place at times. I just adapt to everyone else I guess.
ReplyDeleteHe's a super sweet guy! How nice that you can be so flexible with your sleep schedule. I don't function well with disrupted sleep, and while I was able to get my post written in the middle of the night, my preferred time to write is early in the morning AFTER a good night's sleep! :-)
DeleteI sure know what you mean about getting older and the sleep pattern changing. I used to lie awake at night worrying about all kinds of things. Now I can pretty much fall asleep at the snap of fingers. But my problem is sleeping through the night. Many nights I wake up at 3, wide awake, and ready to get up and face the day. Then I look at what time it is :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we sleep (or not) in a similar fashion.
DeleteI did fall back asleep this morning, and it was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteApparently the power company came out and marked where the lines were buried, but their marks weren't super accurate. When my dad was digging, he ended up hitting a line and blowing out a transformer. Miraculously, he was not shocked nor injured at all.
I know what you mean about sleep, too. I sleep heavily, but when I can't, I go into full hyper focus mode!! Thanks, Kristi!
ReplyDeleteI slept last night, and it was wonderful! :-)
Delete(looks like my Comment did not get through the first time)…at the risk of repeating myself, I can identify with the wake-up-like-its-7-am-at-2:30-am experience. I find the critical decision, in this situation, is when I decide to give up on fallen back to sleep and get up and do something interesting on the computer.
ReplyDeleteWhere do those comments go, anyway? It's so bothersome to me to spend time composing a comment, only to have it disappear and then have to try to remember how I worded the first comment. You're right, though, about reaching that "OK! I'll get up!" point.
DeleteAck, that insomnia is a bugger. I have not slept through the night more often than I have. Well, at least you got your post done. ;)
ReplyDeleteYour granddaughters are getting so big. Still can't believe I've been blogging and known you as long as they've been alive.
I'll be praying for you grandma and uncle, and apparently your dad. :)
Oh, really? You poor thing!
DeleteAmazing how time flies, isn't it? I'm so glad you have been blogging that long and that I've gotten to know you through your posts!
Thanks for the prayers. My grandma has an appointment this next week that should shed some light on the situation. My uncle is on hospice care, but pulled though the scary incident. My dad is fine. He had the power company mark where the powers lines are buried, but the workers failed to tell him how far away from the mark was safe to dig. There is a margin of error, apparently, and my dad--or at least, his shovel--found that margin. Sparks flew, a transformer was blown, but he received nary a shock. Lucky man!
I hope your father is okay. Your mother sounds like mine. My father went in for a small "heart surgery" recently and they didn't bother to tell us until he was in recovery so we wouldn't worry. We then got a "Don't worry, your dad's out of surgery and everything's okay!" message. To which our response was, "Wait, dad had surgery?" Good news that goes better with a full story.
ReplyDeleteAll that to say - hope yours is fine.
And glad all the plumbing and home repair issues seem sorted. Perspective in these things is always key - but it doesn't stop them from being hassles. - Louise
The funny thing is, my mom is not normally like that at all. My dad is fine--see my above comment to Christine for the full story. I hope your dad is OK. My dad had heart surgery (valve replacement) earlier this year, too. (My mom did tell me ahead of time; in fact, I stayed at my parents' house and took care of grandma during the time of surgery.)
DeleteI just read your reply to Christine's comment. Don't you wish someone had caught it on video (now that you know it just scared him and didn't actually harm him)? Did he have to change his big boy pants after that incident?
ReplyDeleteIt must have been spectacular. I'm pretty sure it's already drawn more attention than he would have liked, so I think I'm fine with the no-video status. As for your last question, I'm a firm believer in "Don't ask, don't tell" in that situation.
DeleteFamily is such a gift and you never fail to make it clear how much yours means to you, Kristi.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
:-) You have a great week, too!
DeleteI know about mom's who communication skills are lacking sometimes. She didn't want to bother you. I am glad your father is ok though. Glad you had a great Disney trip. ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't get insomnia often but when I do, I don't like it. I'm not a fan of being awake in the middle of the night. I suppose it is a good time to write though. You churned out a terrific post!
ReplyDeleteI am keeping all of your family members in my prayers. I, too, am happy that your dad wasn't mortally injured. I had a little giggle at the three items about your mom. Bless her heart!
I think it's so romantic that your husband still asks you out for date night. The two of you are such a great couple...true partners. I love that!
I have suffered with bouts of insomnia, often stress induced, but usually I am a very good sleeper.and like you I love to go to bed early and get up early, too! Sleeping in around here is not allowed. Since we bring the cats in at night they often demand I get up and release them before the 5 AM alarm -- they would never let us just sleep! But I am very thankful to have 2 such wonderful cats.
ReplyDelete