Thirty Days of Gratitude, Days One and Two

I can't believe it is November, again. To me, that means three things: Thanksgiving, my birthday, and a month of gratitude. I've often used this blog as a way to express my gratitude for the blessings in my life and, this year, it feels even more important to me to make that effort; grief can steal gratitude like a thief in the night and I really want to guard against that as much as I possibly can.

So, this month, the blog will have a theme.

Since I was super busy yesterday and didn't have a chance to write, I'll have to play catch-up today, with two things for which I am grateful. Luckily, that's quite easy; I'm eternally grateful for The Teenager and the Man-Cub.

Those kids bring me joy every day of my life.

Yesterday, I got to spend some time on the phone with The Teenager. She filled me in on her first Halloween at college, and, despite some drunken antics by her room mates, she seemed to have a good time. She and Katie texted me pictures of their adorable costumes and it almost felt like being there, although, I am way too old for beer bongs and frat parties (another thing to be grateful for).

As I said, yesterday was a very busy day for me. I spent the day putting away my Halloween decorations, which required approximately five trillion trips up and down the ladder to the attic. I also got out my Thanksgiving decorations and I cleaned the house.

Then, later in the evening, the Man-Cub and I attended the ASTRA club's annual Halloween Zombie Prom.

The Cub deserved a fun night out, considering he had spent the previous night volunteering for ASTRA at the elementary school Halloween Carnival (dressed as a giant banana, because, when you wait till the last minute to pick out a Halloween costume, you take what you get). He and the rest of the kids really got into the spirit of the theme this year, especially the girls, who purchased-and trashed- dresses at the local thrift shops.

The dance was pretty well-attended and watching the kids do the entire Thriller dance while in full-on zombie costume was the highlight of my career as an ASTRA sponsor, since that was exactly what I had envisioned four years ago when I came up with the idea to have the dance as a fundraiser for our club.

I can be grateful for that today, as well.

Huh.

This month of gratitude thing is off to a really good start.

Thanks, kids!