My grandma fell down the stairs

and broke her neck.

She broke it in the best place possible - at the very top where it is most difficult to damage the spinal chord. She has a HUGE brace, she is in quite a bit of pain and very uncomfortable, and she is home with nothing to do but be uncomfortable.

My shower is annoying. The hot water connection is aweful. To have a warm shower in the morning you have to turn the hot water all the way on - which comes to a full blown drizzle :/ . If you want any sort of water pressure, you have to turn on the cold water and settle for an almost-warm shower.

My 13-year-old neighbor's dad died about 2 weeks ago.

My ignition is broken. Ever day when I go to work I fight with my car for 2 minutes, begging it to let go of my key.

I feel like an idiot at work. I have no clue what I am doing.

In the last week or so I have developed a really annoying problem. I'm suddenly lactose intolerant. yep.

So..... Why do I say all this? Don't worry, I'm not complaining.



My work is too lazy to give me a parking permit for the month of November because I started in the middle of the month. Since I have no permit I have to stop at the security window every day to get my parking stub. I see the same, kind, old man every morning and every morning our greetings to each other become more and more familiar. I am always in a hurry when I rush into the parking lot, but then I remember that I get to see the awesome parking dude with the parking stub and the warm greeting.

This morning he looked at me through the window and said with his beautiful accent:
"If I don't see you later, you have a BEAUTIFUL, WONderful Thanksgiving."
I have never heard a stronger wish for a happy Thanksgiving. He pulled out the most elaborate words he could think of with his second-language English, and each word was supported by his whole-hearted sincerity.


This man - who is barely more than a stranger - reminded me how really thankful I am.


I am thankful that I don't yet have a parking permit. I would be missing out if I didn't get to know the parking dude.

My grandma is 77. She could have been paralyzed, bed-ridden, or killed falling down those stairs. She is home with her husband who is taking really good care of her. She is alive and physically capable of healing. She also has this really cool-looking bump on her head. In fact, this is the second time this year she has escaped death (the first time being when she and my grandpa had carbon monoxide poisoning). God isn't done with her yet.

All summer long I had to deal with really crappy showers. I had 7 weeks of cold-water bucket baths, which really weren't that bad, but nice, hot, long showers are definitely my favorite. I shared a bathroom with up to 7 people, where taking longer than 5 minutes wasn't an option, and in Ghana and Manila, the feeling of being clean lasted for about 15 seconds because of the thick humidity... It is really nice to have a shower with running water, two bathrooms to share with my two housemates, and good old, dry, California weather.

I get to see my 13-year-old neighbor often. I hate what he is going through, but I am glad I am here. I am so grateful to be able to be in his life - and hopefully to help positively influence it. I have already been blessed by the short amount of time I have spent with his family, praying with them and listening to his mother when she needed to talk and cry.

My car is now almost 17 years old and it gets about 24 miles to the gallon on the street and 30+ miles to the gallon on the freeway. This car has treated me well and taken me thousands of miles. I am so thankful that I have such a reliable car and can afford the gas.

I LOVE my job. I work for the woman who's job I want as soon as I know what I'm doing (which will maybe be in 10 years or so). It took me over a month to find this job, and it was well worth the wait. I am never bored - being challenged with every project. My supervisor hands me work and then tells me that I probably won't know what I am doing. When I show her what I did and tell her I didn't know what to do with the rest, she thanks me for the work and then patiently explains everything. I have no clue what I am doing, but I am learning more than I thought I ever could.

Praise Jesus for soymilk.

there is SOOO MUCH to be thankful for.

so much.

My grandparents, neighbors, parking dude, home, car and coworkers have been huge blessings in my life - not to mention my parents, the rest of my family, my housemates, my friends, my mentors, etc.

What are you thankful for?

By the time most of you read this, I'm guessing it won't be Thanksgiving anymore, but thats okay.

I hope that it was BEAUTIFUL and WONderful.