Thankful Thursday | impossibly beautiful

This week, I am thankful:

for some lovely sunrises and sunsets

It’s been low-humidity weather here this week, so I’ve been making a point to watch some sunrises and sunsets at local parks.

The days are getting a bit shorter now, which means it’s more feasible to catch a sunrise these days.

Isn’t this just impossibly beautiful??

Also, I have to add that these lower-humidity days feel like such a gift in August. A couple of my walks this week started in dry 66-degree weather, and that made for a happy me!

that today feels better to me

Today is August 15th.

I got married on August 15th, 1997.

When this date rolled around in 2022, the year I’d left my marriage, I drove to a trail to walk and instead I found myself sobbing in my car for an hour first.

(I remember this because I mentioned it in an Instagram reel that day.)

I knew I’d made the right decision, but still, I was filled with sadness over all the hurt I’d endured. My marriage was not remotely what I had expected when I walked down the aisle and the date had just brutally reminded me of that fact.

In 2023, my dominant emotion on this date was anger, partly at the role cultural forces play in my marriage*, and partly because I was still not divorced! And I didn’t have a lot of hope that a completion date was even on the horizon.

*Sexist, misogynist systems that keep women in harmful marriages will probably always make me angry.

This year, 2024, I feel more at peace. My divorce is done! I am freeeeeee!

I still cry sad, hurt tears sometimes because there is still more to process and grieve. But there’s less than before.

I still am angry sometimes as I work through the hurts. But there are fewer left to process now, and the anger moves out more quickly these days.

In 2022, the hurt felt sharp. Today, it feels more muted, like it has faded in the sunlight.

And probably every year, it’ll fade more.

that I can renew car registrations online

Zoe’s car registration and mine both come due at the end of this month, and while I don’t love paying for this, I do love that I can do it online! We used to mail these in, and I like the ease of doing it online.

It took me maybe ten minutes to get both Zoe’s and mine renewed. Easy peasy! And now I just gotta wait for the new papers to come in the mail.

(Happily, I renewed ours promptly, so there are no worries about the registrations expiring before the stickers and papers get here.)

that I have a Toyota and a Honda

I know nothing is ever guaranteed with cars, but my Sienna and Zoe’s Civic buy me as much car peace of mind as you can hope for!

for all the learning I have done at my job

When I think back to where I was when I started in June, I am amazed at all I have learned.

I have become so much more competent at bladder scans, EKGs, blood sugar tests, vital signs, catheter-related tasks, documentation, and even blood draws, among other things.

I was so nervous to do my first blood draw (and I still do need a lot more practice), but mostly I have been having success on my first try with patients.

I don’t know exactly how much all of this is going to carry over into this semester, but at a bare minimum, I’m going to feel more at home when I walk into clinicals this semester.

that I’m still not grossed out at work

Let me tell you, I have seen some things (!!!!!) and still, I’ve been fine.

(However, I could probably gross a lot of you out with my stories, if that didn’t violate HIPAA rules!)

Some people’s first PCT job helps them decide nursing is not the right field, but my experience has been the opposite.

for how happy Lisey’s cat makes her

And for how happy it makes me to see pictures of her cute self. 😉

that I’ve been making good progress on my before-school to-do list

I’m faithfully practicing my head-to-toe assessment, getting tasks done around the house, eating my freezer down, and more. Yay me!

The deadline of the first day of school is a very helpful motivator.

for all the trees in my neighborhood

I took a little stroll after dinner the other evening and this one street always reminds me of the type of road that leads to a state park…it’s just so green all over!

for tomatoes + cottage cheese

I am forever indebted to the reader who suggest this combo. Tomatoes, cottage cheese, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and fresh basil = a 10/10 combo.

It’s a little like a riff on a Caprese salad, except with a lot of protein.

for the joy of freshly ground black pepper

I know it’s simple and basic, but freshly ground black pepper is so so good.

The stores near me only seem to sell peppercorns in disposable grinders, so I order this big container.

It’s mainly just me using the pepper, and still, I go through that big container in a timely manner. 😉

I have this slightly bougie pepper mill, which I bought in 2012. Even though it’s expensive, I would guess it’s paid for itself when compared to buying peppercorns in disposable pepper mills.

If you want a cheaper option, Sonia has this one and she says it works well!

What are you thankful for this week?