Thankful Thursday

God pours down blessings; it's up to us to name them, acknowledge & remember them.

I am thankful for a little brown bear from a church lady.  She brought it over on Sunday afternoon, and "Bo" has taken up residence on my pillow.  On the mornings I work, I am out the door in the dark before Tom gets up.  Every evening, I have found Bo sitting on my pillow, with the bed neatly made.  Tom has not traditionally been a neat bed-maker - just pull the covers up so there is a flat spot to dump the next basket of clothes.  While I hate that I have Bo, it makes me mushy to see him lovingly placed on my pillow.

Typing of beds, I am thankful for mattress pad heaters.  We keep our house fairly cool (68ish), and thermoregulation has been a problem of late.  It supposed to get down to 8 degrees tonight.  The bedwarmers got turned on over an hour ago, and I can't wait to get snuggly.

I am thankful for long phone calls, and warm receptions to "tell me your story."  I spent over an hour talking to a Survivor from town yesterday.  We cross paths at least weekly between Scouts and school, but I didn't know her story.  I'm not great at reaching out for help or looking for mentors in this walk.  I am glad I did.  There are a few more folks on my mental list of people to talk to, because it does help.

I am thankful for good days at work.  I was off both days I was scheduled last week - Tuesday as a Mental Health Day and Thursday with the surgeon appt.  Monday, I was in my favorite but crazy-busy Surgery/ Burn/ Trauma ICU, but felt like I was running through sand all day - never quite moving fast enough.  Tuesday and today were both floor days, and a much easier minimal-brain-cells-required pace.  I love my ICU, but sometimes slow and steady floors is a nice change of pace.  And I am thankful for my coworkers.  They make the rough days better, their lives and antics are a much-welcome distraction, and their calls to check on me are oh-so-helpful.

And that bed is calling...