Gratitude

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I didn't take a single picture all day. Not a one. We have so much to be thankful for and it was great to celebrate and remember all those things. This was our first ever Thanksgiving not spent with family. We got together with a bunch of other couples and their families who are also in school and were sticking around for the holiday. It was real nice to have somewhere to go and people to be with and to not have to make a whole Thanksgiving dinner in my miniature oven and kitchen. It was a good Thanksgiving, but at the end of the day it didn't feel much like Thanksgiving. No spinach dip. No salsa. No family. No Bingo and candy bars. So, this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for both things I have and don't have.

A few of The Haves:

-Dave
-Miles
-Dave's job
-Family
-My calling at church
-The people who help me in my calling at church
-Church/the gospel all together
-The Book of Mormon/Scriptures
-The nursery manual (or Jesus book, as Miles calls it) that Miles has me read to him over and over and helps him learn the stories of Jesus
-Freedom
-Modern amenities

I've been pretty (hugely) spoiled all my life, so I don't think I've ever been quite as grateful for the things I don't have.

A few examples of the Don't Haves:

-A dishwasher
-A garbage disposal
-A place of residence that doesn't smell like 50 year old mildew or like 10 billion dirty residents have inhabited it.
-A garage or covered parking
-A washer and dryer

Out of all those things that I don't have right now, I miss the washer and dryer most. Today, I dragged my butt and my two overflowing laundry baskets out into the 20 degrees, fumbling with the doors that slam shut on your ankles and juggling the detergent and only swearing once. When I got in our community laundry room I thought to myself, "This is fine. The snow is pretty. I'm happy." And I'm totally genuine-- I am happy. But every now and then I think about some of the things I miss and want to move to a different apartment. And then I get over it and use my step stool to get my tupperware and burn my finger in my mini oven.

Anyway, I had another experience at it's natural and appropriate timing. That timing being when I don't mind where I live and I'm all positive, etc and then I burn my finger or the door slams on my ankles or whatever. I got my loads of laundry and brought them back to the apartment and unloaded them on the couch so I could lay out wrinkle-able items so they would be less wrinkled-- forget the socks. Upon my browsing for wrinkle-able items I found these:

That's right. Grungy, old, disgusting undies from ANOTHER MAN (who could be an alien). I totally felt my eyes get as wide as the ocean and I flung the nasty offender to my Walmart Spark tile floor and out of my "fresh" laundry quicker than you could say Bobs your uncle. How did they get in there??? And that's the story of how I'm grateful for the washer and dryer I don't have.