Thinking and thanking

I'm thankful for all the wonderful photos and illustrations available online. (I find this one particularly appealing.) I love to browse through Google Images or Yahoo Image Search and all the other sites that offer pictures of every description.

So, even though I'll never travel to Ireland, I can still enjoy its beauty.

I am not in pain

This is a biggie in things to be thankful for. There have been periods in my life when I had a lot of pain from my bad hip joints and sciatica. However, because of the blessings of modern medicine, I've had both hip joints replaced and I can get occasional epidural steroid injections to relieve the sciatica.

Since I retired, I no longer get stress headaches. I used to come home from work and take a nap to get through the rest of the day. I now sleep as late as I want (barring hungry kitties waking me for breakfast) and I stay up as late as I want. I can get out to go places and do things and I love it.

My heart goes out to all those with chronic pain. I know how pain colors everything in your life and takes away the joy. It takes away your purpose and feelings of self-worth, and it even haunts you for a long time after it has gone.

So, I am enjoying this pain-free period of my life while it lasts, because nothing lasts forever.

I'm thankful for student loans

I am so thankful for the student loan and grant programs! If they didn't exist, I could never have gotten a degree or paid for my four kids to get post-secondary education. (My second-oldest daughter and I graduated from college just one week apart.)

Imagine where our country would be if only those students with wealthy parents could get a college education. We'd be living in an elitist society where blue-blood idiots would be making the decisions how our society should be run.

Thankfully, democracy reigns and we can all be as educated or as ignorant as we want to be! Now that's what I call Freedom!

A Big Thank You

Today is the day when we give thanks for the men and women in the armed forces.

More than that, we give thanks to them!

We can never even begin to know how much they have enriched our freedoms and our lives. And, we can never truly know what the cost was to them and their loved ones.

Welcome to Culver's

Yesterday we ventured up Rice Street to go shopping at the Dollar Tree Store. (There's always something we need at Dollar Tree.)

When we got to the corner where we turn into the strip mall, there was a brand new Culver's restaurant fully erected in just the last several weeks. I let out a whoop for joy! I just love Culver's and always had to go a ways to find one. Now there's one just a mile or so away.

This is a mixed blessing, of course. Culver's was special because it was an occasional thing. Now that it's close to home, maybe it will become no more special than a McDonald's (the bottom of the heap when it comes to eating out). Since I rarely go out to eat, I guess there's little danger that I'll get jaded.

I am pleased and thankful to have one nearby. The food is good and inexpensive and it's a great place to take grandkids. What more can one ask for?

TGIM (Thank God It's Monday)

When I first retired, I really enjoyed the new freedom to go out shopping during weekdays. It was a new experience. I was surprised that there were all kinds of old people out and about during the day. They were the folks I never saw when I was forced to do my shopping on the weekends. People who have day jobs crowd the stores to do their shopping on the weekends so retired folks like to wait till the weekdays.

Now I also run errands and make appointments on weekdays--always being careful to schedule things after the morning rush. According to local traffic authorities, this has resulted in a second mini-morning rush as all the other oldsters and I head out to do our errands.

As a result of this, I tend to hole up on the weekends avoiding movie theaters and stores of all kinds. So, come Monday, I am rarin' to go!

Woohoo! It's Monday!

I'm so thankful that I'm retired!

I tried really hard to get a picture from My Adobe Photostarter Catalog into My Pictures. The picture was taken at my retirement party several years ago. It shows my happy face above my big sheet cake covered with smiley faces. It really wanted to show it off because that was a truly happy day in my life. (I was leaving a very stressful job.)

Anyway, after two hours I gave up trying to get that darn picture posted on my blog. What bugs me is that I have been able to transfer photos in the past but can't remember how I did it.

Being retired means that I don't have to worry about losing my job, ever. Sure--I live on a fixed income, but it's a steady income. I may not be living in luxury but I'm not in danger of losing my home or having to get groceries at the food shelf. Even better, I am in a position to help others who are in tough circumstances. My heart aches for everyone who is out of a job and hurting. Sadly, I know so many folks who are in that situation.

I don't know what the future will hold but I can breathe easy for now. I am thankful for that.