A lot to be thankful for

Like many people this time of year, I am reflecting on all the blessings in my life. So, as I did last year, I want to list the many, many things I am thankful for.

Jordan. To think I did not want kids and could have missed out on her. She is truly my greatest blessing.
Brian. We drive each other crazy more than we should. And sometimes we want to run the other way, far, far away. But he is a good husband, father, cook, and handyman who is doing the best he can. And he just walked in with wine coolers!
Family. Jordan and Brian are at the top of my list, but I am also blessed to have the rest of my relatives, especially my mom, dad, brothers and their families.
Friends and acquaintances. I have many (more of the latter) and for that I am lucky.
Faith. It gets me through tough times and often helps me better appreciate the good times.
Health. We have been blessed by relative good health, aches and pains notwithstanding.
Home. Unfortunately there are people out there who don't have a place to live. I thank God we do.
Food. We have food on the table and I love to eat. And Thanksgiving is the best holiday for that.
Brian's job. This year I cannot include my job in my thankful list. But fortunately Brian is still working. Others are not so lucky.
Not working. The lack of money part is crappy, but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend all this time with Jordan. I know it will come to an end before too long, but for now I feel blessed to be able to do all I do because of it.
Money in the bank. I really thought we would have dipped into our savings by now, but thanks to careful spending, subbing, and continued unemployment comp (which, I know, is taking from the government, which is really taking from the taxpayers), we are doing okay.
The Steelers and the Pens. We have two championships already this year to be thankful for. Who else can say that?
Pitt and Penn State. Both the schools and the football teams. Yep, I said Pitt first again.
JoePa. He gets his own mention. I just love him!
Music. Singing, listening to it, my church choir, the radio. And even Christmas songs in early November.
HD TV and a DVR. I will give up a lot of things before those two things go. I am serious.
Being in shape. I think I am in pretty good cardiovascular shape. I can run almost three miles and could keep going, if not for my aches and pains.
The Burgh. Glad I live here. Enough said.
Kelly Frye and her husband Jason's baby Bennett beating the odds. Hope he continues.
Amy from Callapitter getting support from many people and comfort in ways she may not have expected. I will be thinking of her this time of year.
Hope and optimism.

Happy Turkey Day. May God (or who- or whatever you believe in) keep you safe and full of hope this Thanksgiving and holiday season.

What a year 2021 has been (Day 7)

I have almost no words for what happened yesterday at the Capitol. Protesting is one thing (though I truly think it is and has been time to move on). But to storm the Capitol? A friend on Facebook said, quite simply, " Almost 20 years ago a group of people on an airplane sacrificed themselves to protect the Capitol. How far we have fallen!" Indeed. And, yes, it IS storming the Capitol. I have seen numerous videos of people knocking down barricades/fences, pushing police officers, and breaking windows and climbing through them. That is beyond protesting. And even if a protestor did not do those things, if they followed those seditionists past those barricades and into the building, they are just as guilty. I did not support the violent protests this summer that resulted in damages to businesses and public property (I was in full support of the actual protests). But I also acknowledged as a white person, I cannot truly put myself in the position of a black person who is angry a

Melancholy and Gratitude

A few days ago, I decided to do gratitude posts on FB. I was good the first two days. Day 3 I got a little snarky as I posted about "doing the right thing" in regards to Covid. The Covid cases in Allegheny County have been on the rise. For a while, we had daily counts between 50 and 100. After July 4, we saw a spike for a few weeks, and then cases were back below 100. Unfortunately, other than one "low" day this week, where "only" 288 cases were reported, we have had between 500 and 620 daily cases. Fortunately, only a few people have died this week. But of course, any death is too many. I started to keep track of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations on 6/12/20. On that day, since 3/12, Allegheny County had had 2,034 cases, 352 people had been hospitalized, and 172 people had died. On 11/19/20, the county has seen a total of 22,042 cases, 1,724 people have been hospitalized, and 465 people have died from Covid since 3/12. In just over 8 months, we have had

What, me worry?!

Although I don't like creepy, crawly things, I am not afraid of them and am perfectly able to kill them when I see them. I like the dark, heights don't bother me too much (though I don't love them), and ghosts don't concern me (not sure if they are real, but have not ruled them out either). So what worries me and sometimes keeps me awake at night (or infiltrates me dreams)? This first one is really, really strange, and kind of gross: overflowing toilets. This goes back to a time when I was in high school, and upon flushing the toilet in the "big bathroom" of our house, the water starting pouring over the seat. I freaked out! I can still picture it happening and my subsequent panicking as water flowed onto the floor. I don't recall who was at home who came to my rescue and, presumably, turned the water off. What I do recall is being afraid to flush the toilet when I was home alone after that for weeks if not longer. Fortunately, I have never overflowed a

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