Gratitude: the heebie-jeebies before the storm



I've not written here in a while, and, as usual, that's because things have been going fine. I'm grateful for things in the day and don't feel the need to sit down and write about it. In fact, things have been going so easily, I'm a bit superstitious about saying anything about it. But, you know, I like having a record. And this is the last day of our Easter break. I've been back to work three days, but until a meeting this afternoon, it's all been self-directed work, little stress. So, before I get to work, let me write down some things I've been feeling grateful for:

  1. Our stupid academic calendar with three weeks off teaching before the last week of term.
  2. G's two weeks off from school, and so: mostly no alarm clock! 
  3. Phil's and my trip to Glasgow. It's six or seven weeks till our anniversary, but going there to see Sparks was our early anniversary gift to ourselves. It was a great time. Lots of interesting things to see and to eat, with someone whose idea of a good time overlaps significantly with mine.
  4. Sparks at the Barrowlands. They were amazing and inspirational. And I'm so glad to see that they've made it to the end of their European tour without catching anything from the fetid masses.
  5. Apple TV. Almost everything we've seen on it has been excellent (Severance, Mythic Quest, the Morning Show, Ted Lasso), and that which hasn't been truly excellent has been truly fun (The Afterparty, Schmigadoon--though I haven't finished that yet). Unlike Netflix, which seems to have jumped the shark. (And they wonder why they're losing subscribers...)
  6. Time with some friends I hadn't seen in person in a while (Ann, Magdalena, Helen). 
  7. Teaching final-year students. 
  8. Spring.
  9. Facebook memories—I say this a lot, but I really like looking back on them each day. I'd not be looking back with such regularity without them.
  10. Redactle (thanks/anti-thanks Helen).
  11. New darning skills.
  12. Great sale and quick service at ProCook. (new dishes!)
Looking at the next two weeks on the calendar, followed by a month of marking, is stress-making. It's making me feel like maybe I should have planned my work this week a bit better, attacking more things that are going to be coming up. Eek. I might be coming back here sooner rather than later, when I'm stressed and needing a gratitude shot.