Thankful Thursday | Mental health: done!

Thankful for: A local group in Michigan that posts updates on viewing the aurora. I was very happy to see it and took some great pics. The sky was a great big theatre. For our lunchtime puzzle group. We hardly talk but it is such a great break. For coffee. For Sam's Club click and pull. Such a great service for those of us who can't handle heavy bags. For ER vets, we had to drive an hour but they were so kind. It is the college my son graduated from and their students assist with medical workups for animals. There were horses in the hallway. That my pupper is feeling a little better. He has a lot of tummy troubles.

My daughter took her pediatric (physician) boards yesterday. It's like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She is not sure she passed (the test is VERY difficult and nobody has a way to judge how they did until the scores come out), but she is finally out from under the cloud of intense studying for the first time since she started Medical school almost 8 years ago.

I'm so proud of her. For all doctors completing their residencies, they have to find jobs, get state medical licenses and DEA licenses, move (often across the country) find places to live, start new jobs AND take boards, all in a matter of a few months. Her residency used a different electronic medical record system than her job, so she is learning all that meanwhile too. She can do hard things!

I know you'll pass your mental health/med-surg, and I predict you'll easily pass your nursing boards, because you work so hard at it. Enjoy your few days of respite!

I laughed out loud seeing Chiquita so engrossed in the computer program. Thankful to have spent some time with my Lil Bro this past Saturday. We went to a big flea market and used his work side by side. Getting started was a little slow, but we managed to become more efficient by each of us looking out our respective sides of the buggy for things that piqued our interest. I think it had a two-fold thankful effect for him because we could not chit chat and hear each other, just get each other's attention to stop. I gave him my list of "really wants" and a list of interests. I really am not good at garage or yard sales, flea markets or antique and collectibles because I always find something and I would rather be doing a Swedish death cleaning than buying more STUFF. We had fun and I did fulfill my "wants," which was two trellises for my climbing roses and small baskets to put in the potting shed next to the garden to carry produce to the house. I was thankful for the beautiful country drive to and from the location. I am thankful that Molly seems a little better from her lameness. I am thankful for the space heater in my bedroom. I did turn the house heat up this past week and turned it down last night when I started getting a headache. I moved the carbon monoxide detector to the sight closest to airflow from the basement. I WILL have the heater checked this week before turning it up again. I had changed the filter in late spring. So thankful to see the different entities, Samaritan's Purse, The 2016 Cajun Navy, Greater Good, all of the lineman, personal businesses and others too numerous to mention continue to rebuild WNC and FL. I know there is still some realization of people who are not found and my heart breaks for those who've lost so much.

I'm thankful that the details are coming together for us to get away next weekend over fall break. A couple of people in my house could really use some time away doing fun family things. We found a cabin and there's space for my dog at the kennel. There's a ton to do between now and then, but we will make it!

Also, I have to give a talk to a big room full of adults on Wednesday morning (I'm more comfortable talking to a large group of kids) and the people in charge think it's fine if I just tweak my presentation from a year ago. I'm so thankful I don't have to come up with something completely new!

1. I was able to not have to do the jury duty thing because I arrived at their 8:30 starting time, not any earlier, and they soon had enough poor souls (aka prospective jurors) in the courthouse annex so they sent the rest of us home. I am esp. thankful since finding out they were going to do a capital murder case that day. I don't want to see gory photos of the dead bodies, etc. I also don't want the criminal's buddies carrying out any revenge on me later on. Which is what our former sheriff said (in private) has happened more than once. 2. Thankful to have my cancer scan later on today. It will be paid for by my Medicare Advantage plan, which is closing down as of Dec. 31. If anyone has good experiences with their Medicare plans, other than Humana (my company), pls. let me know. 3. My AC stopped working, I called the repairman, and then all of the sudden it started up again. Thankfully, I was able to call back and cancel the service call so I didn't have to pay the $$. 4. We had a cold front come through! The afternoon temps are in the 70s, not the upper 90s! 5. I was able to get a lot of the brush cut up and sacked up, ready for yard waste pickup this week. The brush pile had been even with the top of the backyard fence. Now it's just 2 or 3 feet high. Slow and steady wins the race....and I won't have to pay landfill fees.....