It's Thankful Time,and you may think i'm off my rocker with this list. In fact, i might be, but still, please don't go. If i have completely lost it, i need someone to tell me.
My thankfuls this week have to do with bills.
Like i said, please don't close this tab yet and bear with me, it might make some sense. Some.
You see, in part because of some unexpected client losses recently, our income in down. Because of some unexpected expenses, i was grousing about how i was going to pay for things this week.
Then i decided that grousing is the wrong attitude, and i should turn it into a thankful or ten.
The mortgage makes me thankful we have a house, even if it is seriously damaged and cannot ever be sold.
The electric bill makes me thankful we have such wonderful things as air conditioners, refrigerators, and lights.
The water bill makes me thankful i am not one of the many women in this world who has to travel for miles every day to haul dirty water to my house because it's all we have. (It also made me look up several organizations that are trying to do something about the situation, and i plan to donate to one soon.)
The sewer and garbage bill makes me very thankful we don't have a septic tank and we do not have to haul our own garbage to the dump. The fact that we get to recycle, too, is a bonus.
The bill from my internet service provider makes me thankful i have the world at my fingertips.
The phone bill makes me thankful i can call friends and family, or text them, and keep in touch in ways no one dreamed of even just a few years ago. (Even if half the time i can't get the kids to answer their phones. Little knotheads.)
All of the insurance bills (health, life, auto, long term care) make me grateful that if something big happens, we are probably covered.
The unexpected bill from Sweetie's ENT (part of the co-pay i didn't know was due now) makes me thankful that he survived the surgeries years ago and has a doctor who can keep him from getting a massive brain infection due to his ear trouble.
The unexpected fines from the red-light camera (thanks, Bigger Girl!) make me thankful we have automobiles so we can get where we need to go, and laws about how they operate to keep us safe. (Most of the time, anyway.)
Paying for food means we have it to buy in the stores, paying for gas means it's available to be pumped into our cars, paying vet bills for our and the children's pets means we have the joy of pets in our lives and the ability to keep them happy and healthy.
Some months are not easy, some are downright tough with zero left over or even a bit of a deficit. The important thing is that we have too many blessings to count.
If you are feeling blessed and thankful, why not write up a quick list and link up with us at Ten Things of Thankful, where Ms. Josie hosts. It's a day brightener if there ever was one.
Today is:
Be Bald and Be Free Day -- Wellcat Holidays wants everyone who is "shiny" to be proud of it!
Catoctin Colorfest -- Thurmont, MD, US (juried art festival, live music, food, and more; through tomorrow)
Chisinau Day -- Chisinau, Moldova
Dessert Day -- another one?
Doburoku Matsuri -- Shirakawago, Japan (unrefined sake festival and harvest festival; through the 19th)
Festival for the Penates -- Ancient Roman Calendar (gods of the storeroom)
First Fiddle of the Month -- Fairy Calendar
Flag Day/Jour de la Proclamation de la Premiere Republique -- Madagascar (flag adopted this day in 1958)
Jack-O-Launch/Punkin Chunkin Colorado -- DeLaney Farm, Aurora, CO, US (with the official Punkin Chunkin Contest, divisions include trebuchet, compressed air cannon, catapult, human power, and youth; a free festival for the whole family)
Liberation Day -- Yemen
Louisiana Art & Folk Festival -- Columbia, LA, US (celebrating the rich folklore and music arts of Louisiana)
Mega Kenka Matsuri -- Hyogo, Japan (Roughhouse Festival, wrestling for a blessing; through tomorrow)
Monster Myths by Moonlight -- Milford, KS, US (wear your costume and take a nature walk to learn the truth about such Halloween "monsters" as bats, snakes, spiders, vultures, etc.)
Mother's Day -- Belarus
Mountain Glory Festival -- Marion, NC, US (celebrating the mountain heritage)
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Day -- Tanzania (climax of the Uhuru Torch Race)
National Chocolate Covered Insect Day -- i'll pass, sorry
National Education Day -- Poland
National Frump Day -- National FRUMPS of America (to honor the frugal, responsible, unpretentious, and mature people everywhere)
national lower case day -- someone wants us to not use all caps
Pine Barrens Jamboree -- Waretown, NJ, US (celebration of New Jersey Pinelands, with canoeing, nature walks, music, kids' activities, and more; free!)
Prater's Mill Country Fair -- Dalton, GA, US (a Southern festival of quality artists, craftsmen, music, and food; through tomorrow)
Rattlesnake Festival and Gopher Races -- San Antonio, FL, US (wild animal fun; through tomorrow)
Republic Day / October Revolution Day -- Yemen
Roseland Cottage Fine Arts & Crafts Festival -- Woodstock, CT, US (one of the leading juried shows in New England; through tomorrow)
Scenic Drive Festival -- Van Buren County, IA, US (includes flea markets, an arts festival, and historic architecture; through tomorrow)
St. Callistus' Day (Patron of cemetary workers)
St. Donatian of Rheims's Day (Patron of Bruges, Belgium; Rheims, France; West Flanders, Belgium)
St. Petca Paraskeva's Day (Patron of embroiderers, needle workers, spinners, weavers, and all who do needlework of any kind)related observance
Petkouden -- Bulgaria
Svetitskovloba/Living Pillar Cathedral -- Georgia (celebration of the first Christian church in Georgia)
The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) -- MetraPark, Billings, MT, US (rodeo, trade show, horse clinics, and livestock sales; through next Saturday)
Universal Music Day -- celebrate music as our universal language
Vinternatsblot, a/k/a Haustblót -- Asatru (to bid Winter welcome; at the approximate date of the start of winter in the Old European Calendar of the Norse
World Standards Day -- International
Yorktown Victory Weekend -- VA, US (with special events today and tomorrow at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Jamestown Settlement)
Youth Day -- Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Birthdays Today:
Usher, 1978
Natalie Maines, 1974
Greg Evigan, 1958
Harry Anderson, 1952
Sir Cliff Richard, 1940
Ralph Lauren, 1939
John Dean, 1938
Gary Graffman, 1928
Roger Moore, 1927
Charles Everett Koop, 1916
John Wooden, 1910
Eugene FRodor, 1905
e.e. cummings, 1894
Lillian Gish, 1893
Dwight Eisenhower, 1890
Eamon De Valera, 1882
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 1734
William Penn, 1644
Debuting/Premiering Today:
Rescue from Gilligan's Island(TV film), 1978 (the first TV film follow up of a TV series)
Winnie-The-Pooh(publication date), 1926
Today in History:
William the Conqueror wins England in the Battle of Hastings, 1066
Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence, 1322
Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England, 1586
Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 1656
Rabbi Judah Hasid & Chayim Molocho arrive in Jerusalem, 1700
Henry Blair receives a patent for a corn planter, becoming the first black to obtain a US patent, 1834
The 15th and the last military Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate resigns in Japan, returning his power to the Emperor of Japan and thence to the re-established civil government of Japan, 1867
George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film, 1884
Theodore Roosevelt is shot while campaigning in Milwaukee on the "Bull Moose" ticket, 1912
The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is first published, 1926
Ethel Merman makes her Broadway debut in "Girl Crazy", 1930
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers, 1956
Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian Monarch to open up an annual session of the Canadian Parliament, presenting her Speech from the Throne in Ottawa, Canada, 1957
The Cuban Missile Crisis begins when a U.S. Air Force U2 Reconnaissance pilot takes pictures of Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba, 1962
The city of Montreal, Quebec, begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid-transit system, 1966
The first live telecast from any manned spacecraft, the Apollo 7, 1968
The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords , 1994
Indonesian rights groups applaud the end of a Suharto-era law that bans books deemed 'offensive' or a 'threat to public order,' 2010
A colony of stromatolites is discovered at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, 2011
I love your thankful post. You have a beautiful attitude and a heart of gratefulness. When we start to be thankful, the list gets longer. It shows that we are after all so blessed even if there are down days. Have a blessed weekend, dear!
ReplyDeleteI love this list. You are an amazing woman, I like your attitude. Always best to see the positive. Have a great day! XO
ReplyDeleteYour attitude makes me forget my own troubles and remember my blessings. May God bless you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWe are definitely blessed, this post really makes you realize that nothing is a given, and everything we have is for our benefit and/or pleasure, we do have it good even in hard times and should be very thankful for what we have.
ReplyDeleteThank you this is a great post.
Great way of looking at bills!
ReplyDeleteI smiled at your opening lines (remember the blog I write...lol) but it is not only sensible, but admirable.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to make a deliberate choice as to how to feel in the face of challenges is totally impressive. We (I believe) have the choice, the power to determine how we respond to the world around us and I totally respect your efforts (all in the form of a TToT! excellent).
I was totally with you and never once did I consider closing this tab.
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Great choice to use bills, normally a negative, and turning it all into a positive. I especially felt the one about some women having to walk miles to carry heavy jugs of dirty water. The thankfuls are there, if we choose to see them.
Yes, music is certainly the universal human language.
I could so easily have written this post, Mimi,our budget sounds a lot like yours, often hugging the line between black and red and sometimes crossing over. And yet, by the grace of God, we manage to keep going, and so do you! Everything you listed here is a truly wonderful blessing. Life would be so much more difficult with out these things, even if the cost is hard to bear at times. I was just mentioning to my daughter how my father used to allow my mother only 7 minutes of long-distance talk time per child once a week! Now my daughter and son and I can talk and text as long and as often as we like with no additional fees... and share pictures too! Bills often don't feel much like a blessing, and I'm so glad you shared this perspective. I'll remember it on Tuesday nights which is bill pay night in our house. I hope the coming weeks are a little kinder and gentler on your budget! XOXO
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