Gratitude: fifty-first Wednesday

It looks like Wednesday is the night to write gratitude notes. I spend the first half of the week in a panic about getting all my teaching prepped and the second half in a panic about marking and this is the little moment to take stock. 

Phil and I both have our first vaccinations booked, Grover goes back to school tomorrow, and preparations for teaching next year are all assuming we'll be back to normal face-to-face teaching. It feels like the world is about to get bigger again, but at home everything's getting smaller. We still have use of the kitchen appliances, but not for long. The carpets are covered in layers of building dust, then chalk dust, then concrete dust. I'm a little afraid to put my socks into the washer. Will the concrete in them set?

 Anyhow, today/this week I am grateful:

  1. For having had Grover as an officemate for the past 3.5 weeks. She's a good one. We marked the end of it by not bringing our lunches, but going out to the Chinese grocery for buns and dumplings, which was nice.
  2. For Tom D's kind review of The Prodigal Tongue but more especially his lovely conflict-of-interest statement.
  3. For various people helping in various ways on Dictionaries. 
  4. For the efficiency of my linguistics colleagues, which is brought home whenever I deal with less efficient people. 
  5. For my work-experience students, who are completing their (my!) tasks with great dedication.
  6. That the vaccination programme is being run by the NHS and not Tory cronies. And that the appointment was so easy to get.
  7. That a friend's child's medical procedure went smoothly. (And that all my Facebook friends getting new joints seem to be doing well too. Good to see that hospitals are coping such things now.)
  8. For Linguists at the Movies this week (English Vinglish) and for occasional opportunities to watch Call My Agent with Phil. 
  9. That I had a day with no classes and *GASP* NO MEETINGS. 
  10. For crocuses!