Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of “everyday things I am grateful for!” For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, every year I have made it a tradition for Thanksgiving to write about 10 things I am grateful for that have no reference to any decor you would find in Hobby Lobby. You know what I am talking about; peace, love, joy, family, friends, happiness, and “don’t forget to flush.” Those are all important of course, but there are so many more things that Hobby Lobby does not recognize. I advise you to go back to my previous editions to help you realize what you don’t miss until it is gone. Sit back, put your glasses on, if you are sitting on the toilet (as most do nowadays) take your last wipe and enjoy reading about the 10 things (perhaps stupid things) that I am grateful for this year.
1. Roundabouts
I am aware that there are mixed feelings about this one, but in Woodbury, MN, which seems to be the land of roundabouts, I have learned just how great they are. On the other hand, some towns that haven’t had any updates since the flip phone, are the land of stop signs. I’m going to be a Karen here, but the whole start – stop deal is really annoying when they are every half mile, especially when you are the only one at the 4 way stop. There have been many times I have wanted to run the stop sign, but have resorted to the rolling stop method, and let’s be honest that you are guilty of that, too. With roundabouts, it is the legal equivalent of running a stop sign. Not to mention, my Rav 4 temporarily turns into a race car going around the smooth curve and revs back up going on my merry way down the road again. No herky jerky or car sickness involved. For those who have no clue how roundabouts work, or are perfectly fine wasting gas on the stopping and starting at stop signs, I suggest you get up to speed with the upgrade of the road.
2. Baby Aspirin
I told myself I was going to try to keep mom related things out of this. Well, this is not mom related still. For those who read my latest posts, you learned that I was in a traumatic bike accident which made my vertebral artery decide to tear. How rude! Because of this, I was on blood thinners for a year. I have to admit, since my Epilepsy medications never are in the limelight; I got excited every time the cheesy commercial for my blood thinner came on of old people living their joyous lives licking an ice cream cone or smiling doing water aerobics while on the blood thinner. I also felt special that I was the only one in my family that could make conversation with my grandparents talking about our blood thinners. Anyways, I have now transitioned to indefinitely taking a chewable baby aspirin every morning to make sure I prevent a stroke. I really don’t mind because the orange flavor tastes pretty good, kind of like the Flintstone orange vitamin I took every morning! I am grateful for this because on Eliquis, I bruised so easily that I had bruises on my legs/arms/stomach/you name it, making it look like every part of my body accidentally slammed into the corner of a table while walking by…although that’s common for me. Now, I get regular bruises from regular bruise inducing things such as wiping out trying to run after my toddler. Now that I finish this paragraph, I’m not quite sure this is an everyday thing, whoops!
3. Brooms
Ok, so I am kind of breaking my vow not to talk about mom stuff here, but all people can use a broom, and needs to give them some love for their job. This is similar to the toilet brush point I made last year. As I was trying to reflect on what I am grateful for this year, I asked myself “what are my daily pain points?” One problem came to my mind real quick, and it is the one-sided food fights my son has with the floor every day (we are working on it.) I imagined what it would look like if I didn’t have a broom, and the image that came into my head was being hunched on the floor picking up every cheerio manually, swiping up dried ground turkey with the sleeve of my favorite sweatshirt real quick, or making the Bounty paper towel commercials come to life. I could list a lot more things, but I’ll put it this way; if the floor had a mouth, it would be very full, and I would spend half the day on the floor trying to pick up Teddy Grahams. I understand the concept of toddler exploration and expression of emotions; but why couldn’t it be in the form of setting it down on his plate, making a 3 point shot into the trash can, or hovering out of his high chair and flying it back into the fridge to save for later? I used to put my broom in the closet after I used it occasionally, but now I don’t even bother because my broom has become my ballroom dance partner as we glide across the floor and under the table with long sweeps of said ground turkey, sticky peanut butter sandwiches, crushed chocolate bunny crackers, waffle, or really any toddler food that you made them with love…but it ends up smooshed on the floor just like your heart is now broken on the floor, too. Thank your broom today, or in advance, because at some point, the fact the Vikings can sweep their opponent doesn’t mean they can sweep Spaghetti-Os off your floor.
4. Printed Pictures
Call me old fashion but I like to make my many pictures on my phone come to life. Having your pictures backed up to iCloud isn’t the only way to keep your memories safe (ok, they would survive a flood or your house burning down, but give me my shining moment here.) A lot of people love to make Shutterfly books of their pictures, and those are great, but that is not the same as the kind of printed photos that I love! You can’t take those out, move them around, give a picture to someone, or write on it…well you could, but that would require some scissors. Since Casey was born, I started a picture book with all of the memorable pictures and people that he will be able to see someday. Additionally, I have written something on the back of every picture whether that be a date, who someone is, what milestones he has achieved, but most importantly, some witty joke or cheesy remark that will probably embarrass him someday.
You can give someone your phone to look through pictures, but then you have to awkwardly stand there watching them, praying that a text notification doesn’t come through that is about something you really don’t want someone to read from your spouse or gossip from the friend group text. I also love that I can send pictures in the mail to a grandparent or parent that ultimately ends up framed in their house or on the fridge (thanks Mom and Gram!) Something about taking the time and effort to drive ALL the way to Walgreens, put those pictures in Casey’s photo book, or the pictures of Zach and I on the fridge, is a rewarding feeling for me. It is so different than scrolling through my phone which most pictures I will have forgotten and never look at again due to the fact they are a tiny square at the top of my camera roll. Lastly, I am 100% sure the guy at Walgreens knows my life story now, as he has seen Casey’s prints from the day he was born! How do I know this? He always says “you’re the girl with the baby, right?”
5. Air Conditioning
Every year I seem to have a “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” moment. A previous one in years past was underwear. I now appreciate underwear more than you know after forgetting any/all on my honeymoon which was on an island that did not sell any. You really get creative, I will let your mind go wherever it leads you with that. This year is AC. This may seem boring, but when you go a month without it due to your house getting struck by lightning, that makes it a little less boring, right? Because of this method of losing it, there was not a quick fix. There really is a way to stump the HVAC guy! This also happened to be during the hottest time of the year. I turned into someone that sleeps on the top of the sheets which just feels downright wrong, and Casey slept in only a diaper which also felt wrong. The upside? I got to make the joke to my co-workers that I was working so hard that day that I was sweating! So, I advise everyone to think a little more about your air conditioning today, or maybe even give it a name, because it truly is amazing and is a luxury when getting in a hot car and you’re able to make the feeling of sitting in a sauna away.
6. Mentors
A mentor can stem from and mean a lot of things! A mentor at work, a mentor in finances, a mentor at the gym, a mentor in mental health, or even a mentor on making the perfect Blackstone burger. For me? I have found my mentors in previous managers of mine. I don’t know if that sounds odd or not, but now that they are not my managers, I feel a lot more freedom to discuss work related topics. For example, I now have been able to say “hey, remember when you asked me to do this? Yeah, I had no clue how to do that but was not about to admit that to you as your direct report.” Or, “hey, you used to scare the crap out of me sometimes!” I now consider these individuals friends, as I talk to them daily ranging from professional advice, financial topics, advice on how to get your kid to eat anything but cheez its…to sending gifs every morning, keeping up on Facebook, occasionally calling to catch up on life, venting to each other, and now, making the Christmas card list! These people in my life have become so important to me. I am grateful for the fact that being a manager to me; they know me in a lot of different ways, even more than some of my friends do, which make Co-workers and people that have broader experience such great mentors. I wish I had the exact words to portray the feeling of gratitude I have! Think about your mentor right now and go tell them you are grateful for where they have gotten you!
7. Stationary Bikes
This year I have used my spin bike so much! It is so convenient to have it in my home gym, aka my storage closet that is just big enough to argue it is not a closet but instead, a tiny room. (I am surrounded by retired baby equipment, but I am still standing behind my argument.) I can go hop on it while Casey is napping, do the opposite of what he is doing, and then feel so great afterwards knowing that I don’t have to commute farther than walking down the stairs. My bike also survived the lightning strike (I really am going to refer to that a lot because it was that bad.) While the computer part of the bike containing the virtual Peloton-like workouts on the screen died, the bike itself did not…this kind of goes back to printed pictures in a way; some things are just better when they aren’t electronic. I won’t say much more about this topic, but I will end with the fact that it is a way to exercise while sitting down, too!
8. Playgrounds
I can’t tell you the last time I played on a playground. Oh wait, yes I can, last week. I’ve told people that one of the best things about having a kid, is that part of you gets to become a kid again. Going to the park with Casey is a socially acceptable way for me to run around going down slides, doing monkey bars, and going on swings just like I did when I was in elementary school. Some things don’t change even when becoming an adult (or maybe this means I am not an adult yet.) I am grateful for parks because they are a great outlet for a toddler that likes to run around the house and climb tables. In addition, as a parent, it can get really hard trying to figure out what to do with your child that isn’t the same thing over and over again after dinner. In our house, it is take everything out of the cabinets in the kitchen, run around the house with usually a bucket or potholder, drag them up the stairs, and hide them somewhere that I will not find until a later date. Little boys have so much energy, and I do not, so a playground is the perfect way to channel their energy while I can sit back and watch him almost go head first down a slide until I call out to turn around (he actually does turn around, he’s a good boy!) Lastly, playgrounds nowadays have gotten a huge glow up and have so many cool contraptions and activities! Zach and I love to discover new playgrounds to take him to. Instead of looking up restaurant reviews like most people do our age, we are critiquing the components of new playgrounds!
9. Bluey
Before having a kid, I heard all the hype about this show called “Bluey” and thought it was so overrated. Now? I have a sincere connection with Bluey’s whole family. I can tell you her whole family tree including her sister Bingo, cousin Muffin, Dad Bandit, Mom Chili, and all Bluey’s friends. I love going down the Bluey aisle at Target just as much as Casey now. I am also grateful for Bluey because this show keeps Casey entertained when I need it, such as on a 3 hour plane ride to Texas (thank goodness.) There is so much talk about keeping kids away from screens and being “screen kids,” but I fully believe that sometimes, it just needs to happen, and there is nothing wrong with it! The 7 minute episodes (another version of 7 minutes in heaven,) give me a little bit of time to clean up the dishes from dinner, comforts when they are sick, reply to an email, I can fold a load of laundry, or simply, have a break! In order for me to parent at my best, I need to take a little time for me to just decompress for a bit. I can’t believe how much scrutiny is out there, and telling another parent that your kid watches TV sometimes feels like you are telling them that you just backed into their car, aka, embarrassed, nervous, and ashamed. I grew up watching my cartoons that I loved, and they brought me so much joy and memories, and I think I turned out ok! Anyone remember Dragon Tales or Blues Clues? (Maybe Blue is Bluey’s ancestor.) Lastly, Bluey is an Australian show, who doesn’t love an Australian accent?
10. Street Tacos
Nothing lengthy here, I am just grateful they exist as they bring me what Hobby Lobby would say: “joy, love, happiness.” To be specific, the street tacos from Centro. Do I have a street taco ranking list on my phone? You betcha.
Full disclaimer: I am starting to get tired of typing, and don’t want to use my brain anymore as it is transitioning to thinking about sweet potato casserole instead. For those of you still on the toilet, I’m almost done and you should have been a long time ago.
Well there goes another year’s list of everyday things that need a little more attention. I mention every year that I have a daily gratitude practice of writing down 3 everyday things I am grateful for. Today’s were snow boots, large coffee mugs, and placemats. Weird? Maybe. True? I think so. We can get so wrapped up in the never ending roundabouts of daily life that we forget the little things (see what I did there?) The psychology of gratitude is so prevalent when looking at mental health, and finding joy in the little things is a muscle that everyone should start training. Lastly, I am grateful that I had the time to write this blog!
Happy Turkey Day, folks!
~Lauren
Life of Lauren 