Well it’s been quite awhile since I did a Thankful Thursday post, hasn’t it?! Ever since COVID started, things have seemed so dark and dreary… but there are always things to be thankful for. Today I decided to look on the bright side and find what I’ve been grateful for lately. I am linking up with the amazingRebecca Jo. I am so behind on blog reading and commenting (like… months behind, due to launching my little business), so I hope to jump back in very soon, and this is a start!
My Caleb
Caleb is turning 6 tomorrow, and I have tooooo many feelings about it. I just remember the day he was born like it was yesterday and it makes me want to cry that he’s gotten so old so fast. But he’s growing up to be the sweetest little soul, and for that, I am so thankful. He cares about people, way more than children do. If I’m sad or mad, he tells me “it’s okay, Mommy. I’ll help ya.” And while he inherited some of my very worst traits ever (anxiety, worry, OCD), I’m thankful that he is still smart, sweet, caring, curious, and unique. He is inquisitive and intelligent, and he asks a million questions… just like me. I see so much of myself in him, it’s not even funny. So thankful for this boy who made me a mom.
A Quiet birthday
If you recall, Jerry, Caleb and I all share a birthday week! Mine was on Sunday and we didn’t do a whole lot because COVID, but also because I prefer quiet. In the morning, I went to an antique store and Aldi (by myself!), and then Jerry made my favorite dinner (alfredo), and my parents came over. Jerry also tried to re-create my favorite cake from a local bakery because it’s $45 (brownie cookie dough). I got some nice pink drawers from Jerry for my Pink Zebra stuff, and some shelves from my parents, which I asked for. I’ve been trying to get my house and my business more organized, so this will all be a huge help. I’ve been throwing out lots of stuff, sorting things, donating things, and just trying to find a good organizational system.
My doctor
I have the most wonderful primary care doctor ever. I am extremely thankful for that! She is compassionate and actually cares about her patients. Lately, we’ve been working via virtual visits to manage my migraines and mental health. She’s also onboard with my bariatric journey. This week, I told her about the difficulties I’d been having with the dietician and the program I was in, and how I basically unofficially quit because the lady was so damn awful during the lockdown. When I opened up honestly to my dietician about struggling with stress eating and weight gain during the lockdown, she never replied with encouragement, and instead basically told me I was a failure. I sent all of this in an email to my doctor, and told her I wanted to switch programs. She told me that the new doctor and program I was switching to would be a better fit, and said this: “do not be discouraged. Overall they are trying to help people be as successful as possible, but sometimes a person working with you is just not hearing what you are saying. The pandemic has been hard on many many people. I am glad you are feeling positive about moving forward again.” Just… what an amazing doctor. She listens! I am finally feeling positive and hopeful again for the first time in awhile about this journey. More to come soon.
Student loan payments frozen again
If you are a lucky person with no student loans and didn’t know this… student loan payments have been frozen since March — with no interest — due to COVID. This means that in our household, we’ve been saving around $500 a month (thanks, grad school). This was set to end very soon, with payments resuming at the end of this month, but luckily, Biden extended the freeze. They’d been saying he would extend it on the day he took office, but I was still nervous until it became official… and now it is, until at least September. Wahoo! What a heavy burden off our backs. I’m enrolled in the PSLF program too, which is for public employees so that we can get our balances waived after 10 years of payments. What’s even cooler is that all of this frozen time with no payments is still counting toward our ten years! Super thankful to be saving thousands of dollars.
Slight normalcy at work
Like the rest of the world, my workplace has been greatly impacted by COVID. Our hours have changed, our services have changed, and worst of all, our staff has changed. We lost more than half our staff during the lockdown period due to layoffs. That meant that upon returning in May, the rest of us had to start doing our own work, PLUS the work of all the staff members we lost which was… basically EVERYTHING, including paging (shelving the books). Paging has been my least favorite thing ever because I am woefully out of shape, and all the bending and shifting has been hard on my knees and back (one of the reasons I am getting surgery… too young for this crap). I’ve never been a page before and my body was not used to it, and now I’ve been doing it since May. Well… at the beginning of the year, we were finally given the greenlight to bring aboard a few pages again and HALLELUJAH! I haven’t had to page in a week! Now, things are still very abnormal at work, but this is one tiny step back to normalcy. I am very thankful to not have to page anymore (or at least not as much) because my body was hating it for sure.
Okay, I think that’s it for now since I wrote a novel! As usual, I get to writing and I write too much. Tell me something you’ve been thankful for during these crazy days please!
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