The other evening, I was contemplating the things I was MOST thankful for at that moment. There are many things, obviously, but here are the things that came to mind yesterday:
1. I am thankful for indoor plumbing. We now have a toilet in the house – it has to be flushed with a bucket, but it works SO much better than the hole in the back yard surrounded by VERY tall grass and insects and ??????
2. A shower in the house – before we started using the shower, we were bathing in the back yard – either at dusk, with a big chance of being seen – with those very WHITE bodies, or after dark, when you were possibly washing beside snaky kinds of creatures.
3. I am thankful for a lady in town who is willing to wash our clothes by hand. I had to do a few things the other day and about died, I was so tired (shows how wimpy I am.) I am hanging some things on a clothes line, but most are hung of the stick fence on our backyard. We do have to be careful when putting on the clothes and watch for splinters (we are vigilant with those underwear!)
4. I am thankful for Brad, who seems to be able to tackle just about any job we give him – and does it well and without complaining. He has been a great addition to our family and we are thinking about keeping him forever. It has been fun to see his personality emerge the more he gets used to us (I hope he can say the same thing about us???)
5. I am thankful for my husband – who works tirelessly every day. The man just won’t stop. He is so great about thanking me for the work and so thankful to have us all together up there. He goes the extra mile and I am so proud of him.
6. I am thankful for my kids, who are doing a great job of adapting to a less than ideal school and living situation. They are troopers who are working hard to go with the flow in the midst of political unrest and the uncertainty that it brings.
7. Lastly, that day, I was thankful for peanuts. Peanuts, you ask? Yes, I have been receiving pans of peanuts as a “welcome to the community” gift. It is so fun to get to know people and I am touched by the gifts (even though occasionally I feel less thankful than I should since they keep coming and coming an coming.
I am thankful you guys showing us Americans we have more than we really need.
ReplyDeleteHello Dear Hearts,
ReplyDeleteOh, how I enjoy reading your emails, blog and seeing any pictures. When you were blogging about being thankful, I thought how thankful I was for being able to travel to Guinea December 2007. To be able to see the country where you live, smell the air (yes, this sounds like Jim), hear the village sounds, including the crowing of roosters, bleating of lambs, hearing voices, laughter, talking to our grandchildren, watching Jim & Dawn interact with their neighbors, etc. has been huge, wonderful, thankful memory for me. I love all of you dearly and I miss you all so very much. Love, Mom and Grandma (P.S. what does it mean to select profile???)