Category: Thankful Thursdays

Each week I take note of big and little things I’m thankful for. Gratitude takes practice and this is my practicing place.

Thankful Thursday #65

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful Thursdays2 Comments
image courtesy of abovethelaw.com

This week I’m thankful for…

  • going to the movies on a school night
  • the smell of steam from the dryer mixed with the scent of rain
  • rainy Saturdays perfect for curling up to read
  • my former students (now pre-teens) who come to my classroom after school to talk about The Hunger Games trilogy.  I try to convince them to join Team Peeta.  They roll their eyes and say things like “Of course, you’d like Peeta.  You just don’t get Gale.”  Then I kick them out of my classroom for blasphemy.
  • falling asleep in the middle of a good book and dreaming about it
  • my new umbrella that doesn’t go tulip in the wind and rain
  • This morning while getting ready for work, I hit the shuffle jackpot.  You know it’s going to be a good day when your iPhone spits out this delicious combination of songs:
  1. Future of Forestry: Colors in Array
  2. Stevie Wonder: Uptight
  3. U2: Beautiful Day
  4. Bob Dylan: Buckets of Rain
  5. Joe Anderson: Hey, Jude
  6. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: Love Is All Around
  7. Richard Shindell: Are You Happy Now?

Thankful Thursday #64

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Teacher Tales, Thankful Thursdays3 Comments
image courtesy of running-on-healthy.com

This week I’m thankful for…

  • “just because” flowers from the hubby
  • rain on the roof
  • reading in bed
  • road trips with friends
  • celebrating two of my dearest friends by eating their birthday cake for breakfast
  • the school kids who sang the national anthem at the Kings game and their choir teacher who was so proud of them that she was literally bouncing
  • poetry.  It’s been an exhausting week fighting for what I feel is in the best interest of my students.  And when I’m discouraged, I turn to poetry.  Here’s my favorite from the week:
A Prayer
Let me do my work each day;
and if the darkened hours
of despair overcome me, may I
not forget the strength
that comforted me in the
desolation of other times. 
May I still remember the bright
hours that found me walking
over the silent hills of my
childhood, or dreaming on the
margin of a quiet river,
when a light glowed within me,
and I promised my early God
to have courage amid the
tempests of the changing years.
Spare me from bitterness
and from the sharp passions of
unguarded moments. May
I not forget that poverty and
riches are of the spirit.
Though the world knows me not,
may my thoughts and actions
be such as shall keep me friendly
with myself. 
Lift up my eyes
from the earth, and let me not
forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of
the world, but walk calmly
in my path. 
Give me a few friends
who will love me for what
 I am; and keep ever-burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope. 
And though age and infirmity
overtake me, and I come not within
sight of the castle of my dreams,
teach me still to be thankful
for life, and for time’s olden
memories that are good and
sweet; and may the evening’s
twilight find me gentle still.
~ Max Ehrmann ~

Thankful Thursday #63

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful Thursdays2 Comments
image courtesy of righttruth.typepad.com

This week I’m thankful for…

  • the sound of rain on the roof
  • conferencing with the parents of my students
  • a beautiful, sunny day for our field trip
  • time to read
  • afternoon naps
  • staying in my pajamas well past noon
  • a longish drive with a new playlist
  • shopping at my favorite store
  • going to the movies on a school night
  • crossing things off my To Do List
  • pink and white animal cookies with sprinkles
  • my husband who makes me laugh like no other
  • talking to my nephews about how to build a leprechaun trap
The finished leprechaun trap. Beware, little leprechauns!

 

Thankful Thursday #62

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful Thursdays2 Comments

This week I’m thankful for…

  • watching the mother of one of my little ones totally dominate in a roller derby bout
  • blood orange flavored sorbet
  • the sound of popcorn popping on the stove
  • driving with the top down
  • writing haikus with my little ones
  • finishing report cards
  • my little ones who wrote me a giant thank you note for taking them on a field trip
  • my little one who was singing ‘Hey, Jude’ while he was painting today
  • my hubby who knows how to cheer me up like no other

Thankful Thursday #61

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful Thursdays3 Comments

This week I’m thankful for…

  • sleeping in Saturday morning
  • walking by the river
  • time with my extended family
  • good books
  • the moment my husband walks in the front door after a business trip
  • wonderful things happening to those dearest to me
  • cold, windy nights perfect for cuddling up with a good book
  • the little one who is keeping me honest during Lent
  • my patient stepdad who gives me photography lessons and explains things like ISO and aperture over and over and over again because my peanut sized brain doesn’t get it the first 20 times.
  • singing silly songs with my husband while we get ready for work