No, not the Christmas season...not yet. Thanksgiving. The bridesmaid, never the bride of the seasonal calendar. Everyone wants to rush right past it and get to the gifts but I really like Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday and I refuse to be pushed into Christmas until Thanksgiving has been given it's allotted time. But I will admit that I have already done some online Christmas shopping...sssshhhh!
Perhaps I like this holiday because I really like autumn. There's something about the cold mornings, the leaves, the feeling of storing up for bad weather...it resonates with me. Right now I'm sitting in front of a fire, drinking a cup of coffee. The kids are still sleeping and the house is quiet. It's just about perfect (except that my hubby has left for his shift...that part sucks). I have an overwhelming sense of contentment and thankfulness. Granted, that may change when the heathens wake up but that's why I'm writing this now while I can enjoy it.
It's good for me to be thankful, even if it's just been brought on by the season. Too many time I'm caught up in what we can't afford or don't have time to do...it's good to be brought back to the basics. Is our house wonderful and big and everything we wanted? Nope. But it is sound and warm and where each of our kids will remember being raised. It holds our pictures and our memories and the kid's height against the wall. We don't have everything and we don't have a lot but we do have more than some and just enough for us. And what we have is directly related to how much we have worked for it and that fact makes it even more precious than any price tag can state.
So, this Thanksgiving my goal is to be thankful in all things and try to keep this attitude throughout the day...even when the kids are awake.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Joy of Driving with NO kids...
First, let me just say that I love my kids. Most every day. But...there is a certain joy I derive from being in my car by myself. The freedom to listen to anything or nothing is one of the purest forms of independence a mother can have. And I claim it every chance I get.
I drove to town today to get some office supplies before picking up the kids at school and I enjoyed every moment. See, I like a lot of music and some of the music I like is not suitable for my children. Judge me if you must but some of my favorite songs are explicit. And I like my music loud. Feel it in your chest loud. Leave you ears humming loud. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those annoying people who cranks their music up so that every car in a block radius hears it. I tone it down when in town. But, we live out in the countryside, so I have a good 20-30 minutes of drive time, cruising at 60, with no one around to hear me listening to Marilyn Manson at high decibels. Yea, it's nice.
So as I was driving along today with Pink's 'Raise Your Glass' turned way up, I got to thinking about people and the music they like. Some people are easy to read, there is no mystery to the music they listen to. Most of those people know all the words to songs like "Honkytonk Badonkadonk". (I have no idea if I spelled that right and I don't really care) Then there are some people who are like little musical onions...each band is like another layer of their personality. I like people like that. I like to get to know someone by what they listen to because I think it tells you interesting things about them. I've been known to raise or lower my estimation of someone based on their musical tastes: you like Coldplay? Hhhmm...sorry, down you go. Know who Veruca Salt is? Bonus!! Listen to mainstream country? Back of the line buddy. Listen to Cake or Foster the People? We will get along great! Ok...you get the point.
If you really want to know someone, listen to their running playlist. Of all the playlists people make for themselves this one should tell you who they are when they aren't putting up respectable fronts. Those are the songs that move you, motivate you and tap into whatever it is you need to find when your a few miles into the run. So, in the spirit of honest blogging, here is my running playlist...a little glimpse into my brain, a few layers of my onion. Enjoy.
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Ain't Nothing Wrong With That - Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Volcano Girls - Veruca Salt
All My Life - Foo Fighters
Cold Hard Bitch - Jet
Watch It Burn - Disciple
Lights & Sounds - Yellowcard
Raise Your Glass - Pink
The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Seether - Veruca Salt
Bridge Burning - Foo Fighters
DOA - Foo Fighters
Put Your Hands On Me - Joss Stone
Hammerhead - The Offspring
6 Gun Quota - Seether
Whatever - Godsmack
Down With the Sickness - Disturbed
I drove to town today to get some office supplies before picking up the kids at school and I enjoyed every moment. See, I like a lot of music and some of the music I like is not suitable for my children. Judge me if you must but some of my favorite songs are explicit. And I like my music loud. Feel it in your chest loud. Leave you ears humming loud. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those annoying people who cranks their music up so that every car in a block radius hears it. I tone it down when in town. But, we live out in the countryside, so I have a good 20-30 minutes of drive time, cruising at 60, with no one around to hear me listening to Marilyn Manson at high decibels. Yea, it's nice.
So as I was driving along today with Pink's 'Raise Your Glass' turned way up, I got to thinking about people and the music they like. Some people are easy to read, there is no mystery to the music they listen to. Most of those people know all the words to songs like "Honkytonk Badonkadonk". (I have no idea if I spelled that right and I don't really care) Then there are some people who are like little musical onions...each band is like another layer of their personality. I like people like that. I like to get to know someone by what they listen to because I think it tells you interesting things about them. I've been known to raise or lower my estimation of someone based on their musical tastes: you like Coldplay? Hhhmm...sorry, down you go. Know who Veruca Salt is? Bonus!! Listen to mainstream country? Back of the line buddy. Listen to Cake or Foster the People? We will get along great! Ok...you get the point.
If you really want to know someone, listen to their running playlist. Of all the playlists people make for themselves this one should tell you who they are when they aren't putting up respectable fronts. Those are the songs that move you, motivate you and tap into whatever it is you need to find when your a few miles into the run. So, in the spirit of honest blogging, here is my running playlist...a little glimpse into my brain, a few layers of my onion. Enjoy.
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Ain't Nothing Wrong With That - Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Volcano Girls - Veruca Salt
All My Life - Foo Fighters
Cold Hard Bitch - Jet
Watch It Burn - Disciple
Lights & Sounds - Yellowcard
Raise Your Glass - Pink
The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Seether - Veruca Salt
Bridge Burning - Foo Fighters
DOA - Foo Fighters
Put Your Hands On Me - Joss Stone
Hammerhead - The Offspring
6 Gun Quota - Seether
Whatever - Godsmack
Down With the Sickness - Disturbed