Some Introspection Appropriate for November

It was Friday and I was standing in the produce section of the grocery store watching my mother carefully selecting apples. I sighed and stepped one foot onto the crossbar at the base of the cart, pushing the cart like a scooter with my other foot, leaning forward lethargically much like (I realized then) I did when I was 11. So I put both feet back on the ground and continued to await the end of the apple selecting process. That was when it occurred to me that this was literally the most exciting thing I'd done all week--grocery shopping (or I guess I should say, pushing the cart for someone else who was grocery shopping) on a Friday afternoon. And then I started to miss Roo. To keep from plunging into a black hole of despair as such a realization might normally cause me to do, I decided to think about the good things in my life, the things I'm grateful for.

Of course I thought of my family, home, health, country, food, and faith. But since that only got me to the deli meats, I had to delve a little deeper:

1. I'm grateful that after some years of neglect, my retainer still fits. I would've felt really bad if, after paying so much money for my braces, my parents came to visit next year and were greeted at the door by a snaggletooth.

2. Our dogs have gone to live in Idaho with Roo's parents in order to relieve some of my stress. I really miss the dogs, but I am grateful that after a couple weeks of living on the hillside in Idaho, they have yet to be snatched up by eagles.

3. I'm grateful my baby sleeps through the night. I get up to feed her around 4 am, and afterwards I'm too tired to put her back in her crib, so I lay her down in her daddy's spot next to me. Sometimes she lets us sleep all the way until 9 am or later, like a couple of twelve year olds on a Saturday morning.

4. I'm grateful that rash on my face cleared up. And so is everyone who saw me.

5. I'm grateful that ultra-flared jeans are a thing of the past. (Heaven willing)

6. I took the baby to get her shots last Tuesday. I know that for a lot of people, hearing their baby scream after the shots makes them writhe in agony for the child. I agree that it's sad; however, I am grateful that shots make Esmé cry, because if after getting pricked with the needle she started to chuckle, I'd be totally creeped out.

7. I'm grateful that when my day consists of feeding, cleaning up baby body excretions, and pushing the grocery cart for mom, I can think, "Well, at least I've been to Paris."

8. I'm grateful I don't work for someone who says things like, "Think outside the box!" I'm so tired of that phrase. Additionally, I'm grateful I don't work in a mine. Imagine working in a coal mine with a foreman who was always telling you to "Think outside the box!" It turns my stomach!

9. I'm grateful I've never had to eat horse meat.

I could list a thousand more random gratitudes, which is something to be grateful for in and of itself...but you'd probably be grateful if I didn't, so I'll just list one more:

10. I was really grateful that mom would drive all the way home from work to pick me up and take me grocery shopping with her, not only did it save me from another episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, but it made me think she wants me to be happy and I really appreciate that.