Things I'm Thankful For.

B.

My parents.

My friends...new friends, N and old friends R & K & S and...

My ipod. (I actually wanted to start with the ipod but it would seem shallow if I started with ...My ipod. :P)

It's a lazy Saturday afternoon and I just got back from haircut #? from Marne next door. I think I finally found that "hair that works" ...looks good down, easy to maintain/do and embraces the natural wave thing I've got goin' on.

I've got to start thinking about doing some laundry soon. And I think I'm going to go through my drawers and closests...if I haven't worn it in a year, it's gone.

I've got to have ...less to take care of, stuff-wise.

While I have decided to stick around in this apartment, I need to maximize its space.

I've now been here for almost a year and am learning more and more ways to "live" in this little space. Little space is fine for just me but only when it's tidy and organized.

So maybe that's what I'll do this afternoon, I'll just see where the whims of tidying and cleaning take me.

So guess what?

Chicken butt.

No, seriously...

N and I are really becoming friends. We hung out for a bit after work last night and it was fun having someone to share stories with.

I listened to her talking about being a parent and it's good for me to learn more about what that's like.

Some VERT important to me people are parents.

And they're still who they were before they became parents but now they just have an extra ...layer to their personalities. I can't imagine being responsible for someone else and it makes me sad that I am afraid I'm not capable of being responsible for someone else. Well, let's maybe not go there.

Besides, I practice a bit with Starr.

And I'll be Starr and house-sitting again next month. She's so easy to take care of. Sweet, good-natured, obedient and lovable. I wonder if humans can be raised that way? Kidding.

But seriously, I'm going to be spending time with children and I want to...contribute to them growing up being respectful, loving, kind, charming, funny and honest human beings. The kind of person other people want to spend time with. The kind of person who is happy with themselves and is confident in the world around them.

And I'm looking how actions speaking louder than words. (N was openly admitting that "do as I say, not as I do" was something she had said about herself and her parenting style.)

Another thing that I think is cool is that I"m getting to see different stages of childhood and how that's going.

R & K w/E. He's a little over 6 months old and still dependent on them for food, changing, comforting and loving. Just starting to sit up and sit in a chair and eat baby food.

B - A. not a todler anymore but a young child, learning how to spell. and do math. And tie her own shoes. And pick out her own clothes. Who still thinks her daddy is the best person in the world. (I agree.)

N - w/3 girls. 14 being the oldest. 14. Yikes. A teenager. Helping take care of her younger sisters. About to go into high school. Dreaming of being a pilot. And a younger daughter who wanted to help others and volunteer at a food bank for her birthday.

How cool is all of that???

And all of these responsible, great people are my friends.

I will watch and listen and appreciate.

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N and are going to start carpooling next week and we've decided that we're going to do the gym thing before work this time around.

For a week and half now we've been skipping the gym but not without expressing our guilt about not going and justifying it by eating "better" in having salads and such.

So, back to the routine but altered. It really is a good idea because then we can still have lunch and just talk with limited distractions.

I've mentioned that her and I are becoming real friends right? And yesterday, twice, randomly/out of the blue, she just expressed her gratitude for my great friendship (uh, words to that effect) and both times I was like "what the hell?..where did THAT come from? Thank you" (I think I said thank you)when I should have just said "thank you.". It's just that it's been so long since someone said that to me.

I'm not complaining...it just that I think it's usually me saying that to someone about them/their friendship.

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯