thoughts of thanks...a few days late

The past few days since Karla left have been an odd mix of emotions for me. Having had someone close here to visit & then leaving us to return home was much harder than I thought it would be. So instead of wallowing, I thought I would try to think of a few things i/we are thankful for during this holiday season, despite the fact that i may not actually be feeling thankful. I am hoping the exercise will help foster such feelings.

I am thankful for people who are patient with me as I butcher their language, yet still treat me with respect & respond to me in German because they know I am trying.

I am thankful for the gym. Although people still stare (today there was a blatant offender), it keeps me sane and always makes me feel better. I am also thankful for all the people who work there who are kind, helpful & tend not to stare.

I am thankful for our apartment, my growing body of clients & joe's big kid job (although he may not always feel so excited about it;).

I am thankful we have less clutter, crap & possessions in our lives to complicate things & frustrate us (hope your car is ok mom ;)

I am thankful for a full, long night of sleep which I am consistently blessed with.

I am really thankful for all the yummy foods that were sent from the US with Karla, although they were part of the reason I gained .4kg last week, so I may have to lay off them for a bit.

I am thankful for www.watchtvsitcoms.com so we can at least watch the office.

I am thankful for warm socks, for good smells (sometimes the bad ones are more common than the good ones here) & for my new coop supercard so the checker at the grocery store will no longer stare at me like i am an idiot when i respond "nein" to her inquiry if i have one.

I am thankful for snail mail, for skype messages, for emails, for your thoughts & your prayers.

We think of you all often, and miss you all like hell.