A Smell. I’m tempted to link back to one I wrote on this a few years ago, which was the smell of my grandparents’ woodstove. But I think that would be cheating.

I can’t smell as well as I used to. Covid took that from me in Dec. 2020. I can get some things, but not all. One thing I can’t smell very well is poo, which would seem like a good thing but it is not if your house smells like poo and you don’t know it and you have guests. That’s not good at all.

I am grateful for the smell of Old Spice after shave. My dad wore Old Spice, and when I smell it, I think of him. Ben and Bennett both use Old Spice deodorant, but the after shave has a bit of a different scent to it.

I actually haven’t smelled it in a very long time. I wonder if I can still smell it, or if it would be different now?

Today’s topic is A Memory.

This is difficult for me because I try to be thankful for every memory I have. See, a few years ago God led me to this little book called “The Power of Praise” and it talked about how important it is to be thankful to God for all things. All things. Good or bad. Because all things work together for the good of those who love God. And so I have thanked God for all of the things in my past. It really is freeing. I know that even when things seemed bad to me, it’s all part of a beautiful tapestry of human existence that I will not comprehend this side of heaven.

And besides that…it’s tough to pick one memory.

So I will pick the cherished memories I have of my sweet boy cat named Pal, who along with his brother Drumm were my babies before I had babies. Both were good boys, but Pal was especially a Mama’s boy, and if I reached down to pick him up, he would get up on his hind legs and stretch his arms up to me and I would pick him up and put him over my shoulder. I didn’t teach him to do that. He just did it. The memory of that sweet cat reaching up to be held is the one that I will choose to single out and be grateful for today.

My twin men – Pal (on the left) and Drumm.

Backdated…I really was behind there!

The prompt for this day is A TV Show or Movie.

Of course, we all have lots of TV shows and movies that we love and I suppose should also be grateful for those.

I’m going to say St. Elsewhere because that’s the show that Ben and I are binging right now. I saw it when it was on TV back in the day (and looking at the date, I guess I was like 7 or 8 and this is wildly inappropriate for that age, ha ha). Anyway, Ben hasn’t seen it and I only remember some details so it’s fun for me to watch too.

But I am super thankful for any show that Ben and I like to binge watch together like that. It’s nice to have that thing that we can relax and watch together.

So that’s it.

Backdated, ha ha.

My favorite food. This is weird because I’m not really sure what my favorite is. And since I lost most of my tasting ability to long covid, I’m extra not sure.

But..I know my favorite food is food I don’t have to cook myself! I don’t like cleaning up and am indifferent to cooking, but I don’t like having to plan meals anymore. My brain is tired and likes then other people plan the meals. Unfortunatley, I am the one who has to plan and execute most of the meals around here.

But this is about gratefulness, and I am so very grateful when I don’t have to do anything with the meal except eat it! I am very thankful for the times Ben or the kids have made meals for me. And I am thankful for the fact that we have been able to eat out many times in the past. Being able to relax with friends and family and enjoy a meal without any work is like heaven to me!

Today I forgot that I was going to do this. Then I happened to look at my fb memories and saw the post I made on being thankful in 2017. So that’s very good!

I’m thankful for a lot of songs! But I’m going to write about a very good one. The Fox. It’s hard to believe I have enjoyed that song for 11 years now. I remember the first time I saw it. I thought the guy in it was pretty funny. Another song by him popped up on my youtube page and I clicked that too. Stonehenge. I thought that was very funny. And I noticed that the guy in The Fox was actually two guys, since I’d only focused on Bård the first time I saw it, and Vegard was obviously a different guy in Stonehenge. That’s what really sent me on the deep dive.

I watched their music videos, then some of their live shows, then all the transcribed episodes I could find of I Kveld Med Ylvis, their late night talk show. Since then, I’ve stayed a fan, watching them in everything I could find. I’ve even spent a long time slowly learning Norwegian, so I can hopefully understand the stuff that’s only in Norsk…eventually.

My interest has also led me to other Norwegian artists, and a fascination with their culture. I’m hoping that one day I will get to visit Norway and see Ylvis in concert myself!

Enjoying Ylvis has really been fun for me. Their sense of humor strikes my funny bone and consists of some of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It’s gotten me through some hard times. And I also love sharing it with others, even though no one else seems quite as passionate about them. My family does enjoy watching Ylvis with me, though.

Hooray for The Fox!

Day 2 – A Person

I thought on this one a lot. I’m thankful for a lot of people. Ben. My children. My mom. My sister. Her children. My late sister’s daughter. My son-in-law and future daughter-in-law. Ben’s parents’ Ben’s brother and sister, and his brother-in-law. And then there’s aunts and uncles and cousins and friends…

I thought I’d just pick Ben, and I am incredibly grateful for him. I’m not sure that’s the one I want to write about today though.

I then thought about Jesus, who is a person as well, but although I am also so very grateful for Him, that’s not quite what I wanted to write either. I mean…obviously I am grateful to Jesus. And also to Ben. But who to pick then? If I go with a close friend or relative, then I would feel like I was dissing the others.

And then I decided that I wanted to express my gratefulness to Michelle. I’m not going to put her last name because I haven’t asked her permission, but Michelle is in charge of our homeschool group. Michelle was running things when we first started homeschooling. We went as a group and found fossils in southern Oklahoma. Her daughter was much older than little Lenora, but she took her under her wing that day and was so sweet to her. I’ll never forget that. Lenora was so, so impressed with her daughter and instead of acting like the little person was an annoyance, she acted like she enjoyed every minute.

Michelle has been the glue that has held our group together. I wondered what would happen as her children all graduated from school – who could take her place? But then, she just continued. Through illness and other difficulties, she came back and ran our co-op once again after her youngest was finished. And now, her oldest grandchild is homeschooling, and is there at the co-op on Tuesdays. I don’t know if Michelle will ever stop. She is such a gift to our local homeschool community.

Michelle is smart, she’s sarcastic, she’s efficient, she’s organized. She’s great at leading others. She sees your skills and gets you plugged in where you can help and feel like you’re contributing. She somehow remembers everyone’s name. I can’t remember the names of people I’ve homeschooled with for years. I don’t know which kid goes with which parent, and I never remember anyone’s difficulties, trials, or victories. Michelle does. She is the very best kind of leader.

Without Michelle, I do not believe our organization would have even survived, much less thrived. I owe my children’s homeschooling journey in part to her. I honestly do not know if we would have made it without her. I’m not good at explaining it, I guess, but she’s so important, you guys. I don’t even know if she knows it. But she is.

When Marissa died, Michelle gave me a wall hanging that says “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” I still have it on my bedroom wall, above my mirror. It’s so true. I don’t remember every day, but I do remember special moments through our homeschooling years, and there are a lot of memories with Michelle. She has made such a difference in my life and in my children’s lives. She is truly a blessing for God in our lives.

I cannot ever thank her enough. But I am grateful. So very grateful.

Thank you, Michelle.