The Good and the Hard, a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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Some good things make counting your thankful things easy.

Then there are the hard things, where you have to look for the thankful, the silver lining, the good which came out of it in spite of the hard parts.

The good this week was very easy, indeed.

We had a rental car for Thanksgiving, and on Saturday, we got it returned on time which sometimes means a bit of a rush.  Also, we were thankful to reserve one for Christmas.  As old as our cars are, i prefer not to jeopardize the holiday and have a car we can count on.

#2 Son and His Bride wanted a bit of an evening out so i got to babysit last Sunday.

Ms. S, my every-other-Monday after Carl client, called me the night before to tell me Mr. D was getting over the remainder of a cold.  She was very careful to tell me he went to the doctor and tested negative for everything and it was just a cold, and she asked if i still wanted to come.

I'm thankful for clients who are so concerned about me, and yes, of course i went.

Our church ladies' meeting was Tuesday morning and it was a fabulous time.

That evening, it was my daughter-in-law's idea to invite me along when they took little Annie to see a Christmas light display for the first time.

She didn't take her eyes off of any of it for a minute.

I'm thankful to be included, as i try very hard to be respectful of them and not push for time with the baby.  My reward is i get to see them at least once a week and sometimes more.

My weekly weight workout with Ms. G went as scheduled, except for my clumsiness which caused me to have a small clomp on the head.  I'm thankful it wasn't worse, and my back seems to be holding up.

Our mid-week Bible study had the final lesson until January and it not only went great, we had a bit of a party after.

Ms. V and Mr. L are not known for waking early, so i was especially thankful they both got up and so i was able to get to the bedroom to clean earlier and got home a bit earlier on Thursday.

Knowing next week is going to be very busy, i called Ms. JAI.  She has not been home the last 3 times i've been scheduled to go, and this Monday i won't be able to make it, so i wanted to take care of her on Friday.

She was not only home, she let me clean and do dishes.  Also, i found Panettone at the store and got her one, it is her absolute favorite food ever.  I was very thankful to get it and thankful to see her.

Friday evening at the shelter went like clockwork, always a thankful thing.

Now for the hard.

Dansig the Round has always been #2 Son's cat.  He lived to eat, that fat cat, and became diabetic.

He was a gentle and easy-going guy, thankfully, and let me give him his insulin twice a day with no fuss.

A couple of days ago, he started to throw up and totally stopped eating, even his 3  Shrimpy Shrimp flavored Temptation treats which he never, ever refused.

We took him to Dr. Mel.  He had pancreatitis.  In a cat with diabetes, that's generally the end, and in this case it certainly was.

#2 Son got to visit with him twice, and after the first visit he told me, "Mom, I haven't lived with him in a while, but he's my cat and when I visit, he and I talk and we have a bond.  Tonight, he told me he's ready to go, and I know it and he knows it."

We're thankful #2 Son did get to be there, thankful for a compassionate veterinary team, thankful we had him as long as we did.

Rest easy, Dansig the Round.  We are thankful you were part of our lives.

Dansig the Round, May 1, 2010-Dec. 6, 2024

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Today is:

Armed Forces Flag Day -- India

Bartender Appreciation Day -- with a guide to help you show your appreciation to the Heroes Behind the Bar 

Coats and Toys for Kids Day -- ME, US (charity drive across the state; even if you aren't in that state, there is probably a charity near you that would love to have your help)

Día de las Velitas -- Columbia (Day of the Little Candles, a celebration on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Feast of Osiris in Abydos -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Hang a Wreath Day -- after all, by now it's about time

International Civil Aviation Day -- UN

International Shareware Day

Letter Writing Day -- no origin info found, but think of how happy someone will be to get a letter if you write one!

National Cotton Candy Day

National Day of the Horse -- US (by Congressional resolution)  

National Heroes' Day/Memorial Day -- East Timor

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day  -- US

Quema del Diablo -- Guatemala (Burning of the Devil, to cast out impurities before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

SKYWARN Recognition Day -- National Weather Service, NOAA, and Amateur Radio Operators, working together to report dangerous weather conditions

St. Ambrose of Milan's Day (Patron of bee keepers, bees, candle makers/chandlers, domestic animals, learning, schoolchildren/students, wax refiners; French Commissariat; Milan, Italy)

Students' Day -- Iran

Spitak Remembrance Day -- Armenia

Anniversaries Today:

National Fire Safety Council founded, 1979

Delaware becomes the first US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Aaron Carter, 1987

Tino Martinez, 1967

C. Thomas Howell, 1966

Edd Hall, 1958

Larry Bird, 1956

Tom Waits, 1949

Johnny Bench, 1947

Harry Chapin, 1942

Ellen Burstyn, 1932

Ted Knight, 1923

Eli Wallach, 1915

Louis Prima, 1910

Willa Cather, 1873

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"City of Angels"(Musical), 1989

"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (UK release date)

"The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria"(Savoy Opera), 1889

Today in History:

Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated, BC43

Chinese Emperor Lo-Yang makes notation of a supernova (MSH15-52), 185

Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the US, is completed to Trumbull, 1696

The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, 1732

Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general, 1776

The New York Philharmonic plays its first concert, 1842

Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission, 1900

Leo Baekeland of Yonkers patents the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite, 1911

The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, 1941

Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils, 1962

The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats, 1970

The final Apollo mission is launched, and takes the photo now called The Blue Marble as they take off, 1972

Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist, 1988

The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched, 1995

The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement, 1999

The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, 2003

Scientists in Tanzania discover the oldest-known dinosaur fossil, and 243-million-year-old Nyasasaurus, 2012

NASA reports the GRAIL probes studying the moon reveal unexpectedly deep cracks, craters and tectonic structures, 2012

Beijing issues its first ever red alert for pollution, 2015

Naples' pizza spinning, Germany's organ music, Kyrgystan's Kok boru and India's Kumbh festival are all given UNESCO intangible heritage status, 2017

Breaking, the competitive form of breakdancing, is confirmed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games, 2020

Vice President Dina Boluare is sworn in as Peru's first female president after President Pedro Castillo is ousted for trying to dissolve the Congress which was set to impeach him for corruption, 2022

The China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), 2400 meters below the Jinping Mountains, opens as the the world's deepest and largest underground laboratory, 2023