So everyone is doing daily gratitude thingies this month, it seems. I had a day off work, so I decided to pay attention. So here is a day’s worth. (Don’t worry, tomorrow we resume our regularly-scheduled program of selfish non-gratitude.
1. No commuting today.
2. Hence no hurry to get the kid bundled up and out the door. So we had a 7 am Taylor Swift dance party. The kid, Bear, Mr. Greenius, and I are never, ever, ever getting back together with you. Just so you know.
3. The province of Ontario’s commitment to early childhood education, which means my three-year-old can go to full-day junior kindergarten with integrated, affordable day care tacked on at the end of the day.
4. Kindergarten teacher extraordinaire Mr. Brink, who coaxes wonderful insights out of my kid, teaches him crazy-awesome songs, and makes him want to go to school.
5. Due to accident of birth, I don’t live in the Philippines, and can sit a world away worrying about commuting and kindergarten.
6. My bike. Trusty and not-unstylish. Makes the aforementioned commute less awful.
7. Funny fake grass as the “winter” plantings in the big planters on the Danforth.
8. The guys at the local meat market. They have a big chalkboard that lists “athletes that get free meat here” and another one that lists “athletes who aren’t welcome here.” I don’t recognize most of the names, but when I make a case for Mary Lou Retton on the former, they pull a chair over, stand on it, and add her name—but not after some debate about the ethics of pulling tween girls out of school and making them do gymnastics for six hours a day. They also have tapped the keg in back—it’s Friday after all—and are pressing pints on customers. I decline, but I appreciate the gesture.
9. The fact that I can walk to the meat market to buy fancy bacon and also to the newsstand to pick up an arcane publication that I suddenly need (a story for another post).
10. Wise yoga teacher who sends tailor-made advice.
11. Yoga!
12. When I walk in the door, Mr. Mock, awesome feminist husband who walks the walk, is doing bath (and has already done pick up and dinner).
13. Both boys are belting out O Canada at the top of their lungs—in harmony.
14. For a very brief window of time, I, despite my certified tin ear, am the preferred singer in the household due entirely to my ability to remember lyrics. Mr. Mock can harmonize but he can’t remember the words to Do-Re-Me. I, on the other hand, can belt out all three (long) verses of Rainbow Connection on demand.
15. The kid has taught me to enjoy singing again, which I haven’t done since I got old enough to know about my tin ear.
16. I basically live in an episode of Portlandia.
17. Which I appreciate is a direct result of the taxes I happily pay. Because there is no Tea Party here.
I love this. Portlandia. 🙂
Amazing! Love this.