Geez! Lighten Up Already . . .

So, while I hope the last posts have been meaningful, I fear that I may soon sound like a Debbie Downer (if you have not seen one of the funniest moments on television, you can watch it here).  Everyone is going about their perfectly happy day, and then they start blog reading, and it's suddenly death and despair.  Please do not think I am IN ANY WAY downplaying the plight of those suffering in the world; we should all be thinking about it way more than we do.  But, I love to laugh and find the humor in every situation.  And after reading One Thousand Gifts this summer, I am trying to be more thankful of the blessings I already have.  So, here is a list of the five things I am thankful for this summer (sorry, men, not sure if you will enjoy this; actually not sure if any men but my husband read the blog anyway): 

5.  Drawstring, Tankinis and Melatonin:  A few years of working and not making time to work out has left me hating my cute summer shorts.  It seems that with shorts, there can be some "overflow" out of the top and the bottom.  While I had wonderful goals of going to the gym religiously this summer, something about dropping my children off in the dismal playroom every morning of their summer made me feel guilty.  So, I am very thankful for the ingenuity of drawstring and tankinis (sure the girl is pregnant above, but tankinis can still be useful for those of us wearing pregnancy without the baby, can't they?).  While I am sure they do not hide a "multitude of sins", they make me feel better about it at least.  And, in a small act of grace, for the very first time in my life, I actually have a little tan.  When I was getting a spray tan earlier this year, there was a sign that said, "If you can't tone it, tan it."  Thank you, God, for some color! But, once school starts, I am going to get to it (and I mean it this time . . .)

4. Adele and the Crunchy Tuna Roll at Piranha's.  The summer is about tintillating the senses: the warmth of sun on your skin, sand between your toes, the smell of salt in the air, Adele playing in my earbuds (when I am pretending to work out).  And I can actually taste that Crunchy Tuna Roll just by thinking about it.  If I had to choose a last meal, that would be on it (along with a glass of wine and these brownies). 

3. The Local Public Library.   As a reading teacher, you would expect for me to go to the public library often.  And, in an effort to get my children to sit down and read, we have been once a week.  But, what is my favorite part? The movie section.  I have been able to expose my children to such classics as the first season of Full House and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles free of charge.  To be fair, we have also rented The Wizard of Oz, a few Star Wars movies (man, was Harrison Ford cute or what? And how did he get old so quickly?) and Soul Surfer.  And, the late fees are so tame (50 cents).  And while I type this, I just realized we have had a Redbox for five days now.  URGGHH!! Go library!

2. The Sideways Braid.  Thanks to Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, the french braid has made a huge comeback.  And, instead of that straight down the back do that looks like some weird dinosaur, it can now go sideways.  You can see me sporting this style precisely every three days.  Why? Because that is how often I wash my hair, and to avoid the time and heat used in drying it, I sideways-braid it.  Sure, it makes some strange waviness for the next two days, but being able to take a shower and be ready in 20 minutes--after finding some drawstring shorts that fit--is worth it!



1. Vinyl Mattress Pad:  Strangely, I am most thankful for my son's $5.00 vinyl mattress pad from Wal-Mart.  Because of the busyness of our summer, and his inability (or refusal) to take a nap, he has wet the bed almost every night for the entire summer (poor kid's dirty laundry is aired for all to see).  We have tried waking him up (only to realize we just missed our chance), we have given rewards, we have even tried slight embarrassment, but the poor kid is just too tired to wake himself up.  So, I just make plans in my day to wash sheets, thank God for vinyl and hope when we get back into a schedule, he will too.

So, what are you thankful for this summer?