Back to basics.

It's time for some thankfuls. The post-migraine "what a wonderful world" feeling lends itself.

1. I'm thankful, first and foremost, for my kids, who let me sleep another 45 minutes this morning on the couch, covered me with blankets, snuggled with me, watched tv, and got their own cereal so I could let the world stop while my migraine surrendered to my happy migraine medicine. Huzzah!

2. I'm thankful that I didn't feel depressed when I realized again this morning that I forgot to buy laundry detergent on Friday. I haven't totally run out, and school's out so I can go to the store any time I want. No rush. (Yet another thought that echoes my desire to homeschool.)

3. I'm thankful for the tiny prayer that came from my heart saying, "Lord, if it's important, help me remember what I wanted to say until I can get there." I so often think of what I want to say, and then things come up and I can't get there before they disappear. I also often have trouble praying because I can't figure out what I wanted to say. So I'm thankful for this simple, heartfelt prayer.

4. I'm thankful for that post-migraine "what a wonderful world" feeling. I'm thankful for Imitrex.

5. I'm thankful for my feeling, once again (and thankful that it's "once again"), that I have only certain chores that I need to do every day. There are more things that should get done, they are not pre-requisites for living. The other things will get done in their time, and will get done better because I'm not freaking out about them. My husband deserves a more relaxed wife.

6. I'm thankful for my blog, and what it has become (more relaxed, simple thoughts, a lack of urgency to actually reach someone), and for my gorgeous header that I made myself (with lots of help from Wordle), and am so pleased with. I think it looks so professional. And very me.

7. I'm thankful for this passage from the book I'm reading, Just Jane by Nancy Moser, a novel of Jane Austen's life. It goes:

If a bubbling stream forces itself to become a torrent, surely disaster will follow. I am what I am, and though I am still learning this measure and meter of words, I must be true to my nature, and yea, even, my gift. For it is a gift -- from God, if I may be so bold. I say this not to imply great talent, but to indicate my awareness that I have received something beyond my own choosing. Although in essence I realize I can refuse this offering, I also sense that the prudent act, the one that begs to be tinged with sincere gratitude, requires me to do what I can with this gift and offer it back into the void from whence it came. Whether it will prosper and move along, or disappear like morning fog, I do not know. I should not care. For the gift is not truly mine to hold, but mine to use and return. To someone's benefit. I hope.

This is my heart. I am not the best writer. And maybe no one will read it. But such things are not the point. I was given a gift, a desire in my heart to write, so I shall write, whether anyone but God sees it or not. (I tend to talk and write more like Jane Austen when I've been watching or reading her.)

8. I am thankful that, even though my house is in desperate need of attention and picking up, I am not freaking out. It will get done. My kids will help. We will all live to tomorrow.

9. I am thankful for HopefulLeigh's posts about "32 Things To Do Before I'm 32." I often feel boxed in by my kids and my kids' schedule that I never make goals for myself, oh-so-sure that any plans for myself will be thwarted, so why bother. But this summer, I feel more free, and I am blessed with the thought that I might actually be able to do something like that.

10. I am thankful that, every night, I get another chance to go to bed on time.

PS, in #5, those things are 1. time with God, 2. laundry, 3. dishes. The rest is frosting and just moves my house further along to where I want it to ultimately be.