I'll Take It

It's been a busy week, a crazy week, really.  (Hence my long absences here.)  Sitting in the late-evening quiet and reflecting on the day; pretty sure I'm the only one still awake in this house right now.  Today wasn't an especially eventful day, but a lot of good things happened, and in the spirit of counting my blessings, I am taking a moment to appreciate them.

1) My parents took us out to dinner at a nice restaurant tonight, and despite the fact that my kids were already exhausted and it took their dinner almost two hours to arrive, they were well-behaved from first to last!  Way to go, all three of you.  (Whew!) 

2) A taekwondo friend of mine successfully earned her Yellow belt tonight in her first test ever.  She is an amazing woman and everyone sees it but her...she has some sort of negative tape running on continuous loop through her head.  She works full-time, goes to school, is raising four young children including toddler twin boys, and is a genuine character (the best sort of person in my opinion)...she actually puts a diaper on a pet goat and lets it run loose in the house!  Couldn't be prouder of her and it absolutely made my day to hear that she succeeded.  

3) I've been working on a miserable beast of a geocaching puzzle series for the past few days.  As of this afternoon, I'd solved ten but had two ridiculously evil ones left--both were driving me nuts.  After dinner, the light bulb came on and I was able to figure out the last two.  It's the challenge that attracts me...the pitting of my wits against those of whomever created a puzzle.  I feel nine feet tall and bulletproof when I successfully solve one...it's reassurance that my brains haven't completely turned to mush in my ten years of stay-at-home parenting!    

4) After years of sweltering in my kitchen on summer afternoons, Mom and I bought blinds today and she hung one of them over the window above my kitchen sink while precariously balancing on the countertop (I was too tall for the job.)  Ten degrees cooler instantly...three cheers for handy and very loving mothers!  

5) Last and most assuredly not least, it was another day of having my parents here with us in general.  They live far away, I don't see them often enough, and I especially love to see them with my children.  That alone would have made it a good day...the rest is icing on the cake.

Now I sleep.  Good night...