Song lyrics (in blog title) taken from "With My Own Two Hands" by Ben Harper.
*Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011: Today I am grateful for a close friend from Bridgeport, CT. I worked with him all last year; in fact he was my first real friend in Bridgeport. For some strange reason this man and I clicked from the get-go...laughing, joking, talkin' "real talk" and enjoying the kids we worked with. He and I became a duo, partners, friends and I miss him every day I am in DC. I think of him often and little things pop up during my day that remind me of him and how much he means to me. He was such a rock for me last year that I am definitely struggling to fill that void here in DC BUT he called me last night. This is the second time he's called since I left and it was such a pleasant surprise! It made my night/day/week. I am still smiling because of it...it was only a 15-minute conversation but it was just what I needed...I needed to hear his voice and laugh with him again. I am grateful that he graced my life with his presence...even though it was only for a year and man, how that year flew by, I am so incredibly thankful for his friendship, love and support. I miss him every day and am so excited to tear up Bridgeport with him during the Thanksgiving break! AH!
*Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011: I know I've said this many times before but today I am thankful for my mother. I got in the mail today a pair of Halloween socks, my voter's ballot and a quirky Halloween card from my mother. The Halloween card looked like it was something she had found in the 70's and had just now gotten around to using it. It was a cat wearing a witch's hat and on the inside, my mama wrote: "I know you hate cats, but it reminded me of you when you were a witch for Halloween so many years ago." It's no wonder I am constantly being nostalgic...wonder where I get it from, huh? But I am grateful for her silliness, her little ways of showing me that she is thinking of me and her nostalgia. She wrote other things in the card as well, that made me tear up because it jogged my memory and made me walk down memory lane---such a good lane to walk down. I appreciate her so much and the perfect timing her notes/letters/packages have in my life. They always seem to come when I need her most and I am grateful for that.
*Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011: Today I am thankful for an elderly woman who came into our building to see if the services we offer will work for her. She was pretty immobile and I could tell her memory/attention span was pretty out of whack but she had a gentleness to her. I actually didn't catch her name but she strolled in at 4:30pm and began asking me all sorts of questions about what Emmaus does and the services we offer. She kept saying, "I may be looking away or reading, but I am still listening to you...I am paying attention." She wanted to be so respectful to me and it was so kind of her to repeat that same phrase, over and over again. She left our building at 4:50pm or maybe a little later and I cleaned up my desk and began to shut everything down for the evening. When I left our building I began making my walk home and what did my eyes appear but the same elderly woman, a few feet in front of me, slowly heading in the same direction I was heading in. I caught up to her and we began talking about my life as a teacher last year and the year before and my current volunteer position with Emmaus. She was such a sweet heart but a tough one too...she said, "man, there's no money in anything anymore. I can't imagine trying to work during these times...it's hard for me and I'm retired!" We walked the four blocks together until I turned right onto Georgia Ave. and she kept heading straight on 9th. She left me with this: "Well, Ms. Katie, I wish you all the luck and blessings in this year and I hope God allows us to see each other once again." I am grateful for this elderly woman today for reminding me that the little encounters God sprinkles during our days with unknown people are sometimes more important than we think.
*Friday, Nov. 4th, 2011: Today I am grateful for children. I know my passion, I know my calling, I know my love...it's children. Tonight, my roommate invited me to her agency to watch the kids (grades 1-11) while some of them tested their reading and math skills. I happily obliged. For three hours or so I laughed, played, joked and tried to convince the kids that I was married to Justin Bieber. It was so much fun to be around kids and be silly again. I loved it...I realized that I need that in my life. I like seniors, I like talking to them and learning so much from them but my heart belongs to youth. You can't change that. So today I am thankful for that realization and recognition.
*Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2011: Today I am thankful for visiting with my old roommate. Today I met up with Bridget in DC to do some sight seeing...we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Holocaust Museum. It was great to chat, laugh, joke, talk "real talk" and just be with her again...I miss her. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with her because even though we knew each other for maybe only a month or so, I am so blessed to have had her friendship and today reminded me of that. I am grateful for the six or seven hours we got of fun time today.
*Sunday, Nov. 6th, 2011: Today I am grateful for down time. Although I went to church (loved it) and watched the Jets game with Brittney, Britt and I got home around 5pm so the rest of the night was our oyster. All four of us were home (with no plans for the night) which I think was the first time that has happened in a long, long while. Britt led us in a really good Spirituality night and then we all just hung out, in our living room, reading, typing on the computer, doing sudoku and just relaxing in each other's company. It was wonderful to just "be" with one another; without an agenda or plan in place. It was such a blessing to just let conversation go where ever or just sit in silence. I am so grateful for that down time today.
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