Thankful Thursday

It's a little late in the day but still Thursday. :) Here are things I'm thankful for...

1. All the helpers. So very thankful for all the health care workers, grocery store employees, delivery drivers, teachers, tech support, emergency personnel, and everyone else working tirelessly to get us through this time. Thankful, too, for all the volunteers stepping up to help in big and little ways around the world.

2. The time we have right now. I'm not getting heaps of projects done...haven't made a big dent in my reading list or crossed all the things off the house project list. I've decided to be okay with that. Instead, I'm taking things a day at a time and savoring the fact that I have the time to not get things done. It's quiet right now and productivity seems louder. Yes, we still have some deadlines (for boys' school and Nathan's work, obviously) but life is much less hurried. 

3. Date lunches. Unable to go out for our weekly date night, Nathan and I picked up some take out (we've been trying to support our local restaurants and eateries as much as possible) and had a socially distanced picnic at a park. We soaked up the sunshine and talked and had a lovely afternoon (earlier this week...when it wasn't snowy like today, lol). Nathan was particularly delighted with his beer in a mason jar:

(The governor's orders from March 20 temporarily allow the sale of alcohol for take out or delivery if the business is licensed to sell alcohol, the buyer is 21 or older, and the buyer also purchases food. The alcohol must be in a sealed container, though. Normally selling from the tap, this is the solution one local business came up with and it worked great.)

4. Appreciation for reminders about priorities. I'm sure I'm not the only one paying attention to what's actually essential and where our priorities are these days. I think it'll be interesting to see what we do with these reminders going forward. In particular, we find ourselves paying a lot more attention to where our money goes and trying to support people and places that matter to us. I'm thankful for the nudge to stop and think more intentionally about things like that.

5. Technology. Gotta be thankful for technology right now. It's amazing to think about even just a couple decades ago...no smart phones, no Zoom video meetings, no online schooling. While it can all get a little overwhelming as we're finding our balance here (just because we *can* doesn't always mean we should or even necessarily want to, lol), I appreciate the way technology has eased this transition. 

Okay, off to maybe read a bit more of the next book in my pile. :) Happy Thursday to you all!