Ten Things of Thankful, Week 11

Consoling a friend through the loss of her baby does not a good week make.  (Scroll down to my last post for the details.) Yet, somehow, there were some really wonderful things, too. 

Funny how Life, which can throw us down and make us crumble in despair, is also the same Life that will help pull us out of our overwhelming grief and back into the world of smiles and laughter.

Onward...

Uno.  I am thankful for the prayers I have received this week.  So many people offered their well wishes, consolations, and prayers, and I am so grateful for them.  I am especially grateful, though, for the prayers offered for my friend.  They are an amazing family.  In their sorrow, they are thanking God for the gift of Isabel, and trusting Him to help them through.  Eventually, they will be OK.

Dos.  I am thankful for good friends who will do anything for me, even when I'm extremely rude.  I got the text from my friend to come to the hospital while I was sitting in the kindergarten pick-up line.  A Bible study friend was in her car two ahead of mine, picking up her daughter.  I actually followed her home (a 2 minute drive) and begged for help before she managed to get a foot out of her car door.  She very graciously watched both Cuckoo and Turken for almost three hours for me while I went to hold Isabel.

Tres.  I am thankful for the Wakefield Doctrine.  Looks like I'm finally starting to understand all of Clark's (seemingly) endless rambling about it.  I have really noticed through the ups and low, low, lows of this week why I was behaving/thinking the way I was.  At one point, when I uncharacteristically couldn't force myself to do or say anything but think, a thought went zipping through my head. "I guess a tragedy can turn even a hard-core scott into a clark." 

Cuatro.  I am thankful for Phoenix's wonderful, team-oriented attitude on the soccer field, and his ever-present ability to stay positive and hard-working.   I can finally spill the reason for last week's hatred of soccer.  Last week were tryouts for the high school soccer team.  Phoenix came home each night thrilled to bits, saying he was playing well, making lots of assists, and having fun.  He is not a kid who tries to shine on the field, but does all he can to make his team shine.  He will NEVER take a shot if there is a teammate with a better one.  He will pass the ball and let the other kid have it.  He knew there were several kids who were on the bubble to make the team, so during their tryout games, he passed the ball to them to give them the chance to score. 

Unfortunately, when there are 65 kids trying out, his type of team-playing didn't get noticed.  While all those boys he was passing to made the team, Phoenix did not.  He was absolutely devastated.  All the players were mad, the parents were mad, and his former coaches were mad.  We were getting texts and calls all night long.  (I'll get to his positive attitude and hard-work in the next point.)

Cinco.  I am thankful for coaches who listen and are willing to correct mistakes.   On suggestions from parents with kids who have played on the high school team, I talked to the coach.  At one point I said, "I am his mom, and I do not expect you to listen to me.  Please talk to someone else.  I don't care who, just talk to someone."  Later that night, the coach called.  It seems he did make some calls, because he said Phoenix could play with the team as manager.  When I told Phoenix, he immediately felt better.  He was thrilled to bits to simply be on the field, even if he wasn't on the team.

This week, he has gone to every practice.  He's worked his tail off, to the point where other kids were chiding him, saying, "You don't even have to be here to run these three miles.  I certainly wouldn't if I wasn't on the team."

On Thursday after practice, all three coaches pulled Phoenix aside to tell him they were happy with what they saw from him, and they were offering him a spot on the team.

Commence celebrations.

Seis.  I am thankful for our little farm.   It makes me beyond excited to be able to feed my family right from our own land.  One day this week, we had a meal consisting of potatoes with onions and bacon, beef roast, and green beans.  Every bit of it was from our land. (We traded some pork products for some of my brother's beef products.  He raises the cattle.)  I was over the moon about it.

Siete.  I am thankful for kids who don't mind jumping in to help.  Gardens wait for no woman, so of course there was plenty to can this week, too.   Giant didn't even bat an eye when, an hour before practice, I asked him to start snapping beans.  Even when he saw the five-gallon bucket of beans that needed done, he jumped right in without complaint.

Two nights later, I had 45 minutes to get tomatoes into jars.  Star actually offered to help, and became Master of Hot Water/Cold Water Tomato Skin Remover.  We got them done with two minutes to spare. 

Ocho.  (If you just thought of the movie "Dodgeball" and said, "ESPN the Ocho", you are my new favorite reader.)  I am thankful for COW, specifically his bravery when dealing with mice.  We're in the country and we don't have cats.  Ergo, we get mice every once in a while.  It is COW's job to dispose of them.  I cannot, will not, touch them.  Yes, I will drag a dead pig by its hind leg, but you can't make me get a mouse out of a trap.  Not gonna do it. 

Nueve.  I am thankful for the occasional dinner date with COW.  We have barely seen each other for a couple of weeks now, so a dinner out tonight was a special treat.  The service was terribly slow, for which I was extremely grateful, seeing as how we had to go home when dinner was over.

Diez.    I am thankful for perfectly perfect days at the park with a friend.   Sun + temperature of 75 degrees + big playground + hiking trail with bridges + fun friends + one jumping bug = perfection.  We had a gorgeous afternoon.  The kids ran and giggled, the moms talked and laughed the best kind of "bend at the waist, can't breathe, just might pee" laughter.  It was the medicine I needed today.

You can't even believe how much hilarity can come with the discovery of one not-so-little bug.  The shirt was completely coincidental.

While you are living your life and being thankful, please continue to pray for my friend, so that one day soon she and her husband will be able to do the same.

Link up and have a lovely day!

Welcome to our new co-host, Dyanne!

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