Thankful Thursday

Okay, last day of the month! It's been a busy month...among other things, we've had my road trip to Carhenge, orientation for Asher at UNC, promotion and anniversary celebration at Karate West, celebrating Nathan's birthday and a belated Father's Day, the anniversary of my dad's death followed the next day by my gram passing and moving Asher into his dorm, Asher starting classes, moving Micah to his dorm at CU, my gram's funeral, Micah's orientation, and Micah's first day of classes. 

Yup. Tired. Along the way, some things didn't get mentioned but I'm thankful for them all the same...

1. Garage door. The night before Asher's UNC orientation, Nathan and I heard a loud, yet unfortunately familiar noise. A spring on the garage door had sprung. Having replaced the other spring less than two years ago, we knew what was what. Thankful, then, that Nathan was able to get the same business out to fix everything while Asher and I were in Greeley.

2. Micah being 18. Also while Asher and I were in Greeley, Micah had another infusion appointment. Previously, I'd had to go to all appointments with him to sign paperwork. (We'd tried just sending him to other appointments on his own this past year, as he's more than capable and willing and has a fair number of appointments, but since he was a minor I always had to sign something.) But. Now that he's 18, he was able to sign on his own! Whew.

3. Deliveries. With all the moving into dorms this month, I'm particularly thankful for Amazon and Target orders and the delivery people who bring me those orders.

Yup. There have been a good number of deliveries. ;)

4. Boys. Relatedly, I'm also thankful to have boys. Overall, they seem to pack less than girls heading off to college. :) 

(Side note: After the minimalism of Noah and Asher and a number of moves with both of them, Micah's packing was a fun new experience. He definitely had a different approach than his brothers (unsurprisingly). Even with that, though, he definitely packed and required less than a lot of the girls we saw moving in. Plus, he carried it all himself, lol.) 

5. Volunteering. Between move-ins, I also started a new volunteer position with The Matthews House. Once a week, I pick up snacks for a couple of the Homework Helpers sites from the Food Bank and deliver them to the sites in Loveland and north Fort Collins. When necessary (not weekly), I also grab more snacks from the Food Bank to take to The Matthews House office for the other Homework Helper coordinators to pick up. (Some of the Homework Helper sites qualify for the prepared weekly snacks and others don't.) It's only an hour or two each week, but it's nice to be able to still help some. I appreciate that I have the time to help.

6. Climbing with Micah. I'm thankful that once upon a time almost five years ago Micah decided he wanted to try rock climbing...and that about four years ago I decided to join him. Initially, I was just climbing because I figured I may as well since I had to be there while he climbed. From there, I've gotten to the point of climbing on my own because I enjoy the exercise and challenge. The day before we moved Micah down to Boulder, he and I went climbing together...

...and this is what I got when I asked for a picture to commemorate it. :) I'm not a great climber or anything but I'm thankful for the activity and very much appreciate all the time it's meant with my boy over the years.

7. Movie date. After getting Micah settled and through orientation, Nathan and I took a break and went to see the new Mission Impossible movie at the theater...

It was lovely.

8. Nathan volunteering. And then on Sunday, Nathan volunteered with the local EAA chapter to help at the Loveland airport. The EAA has a Ford Tri-Motor plane that tours and was offering flights. In appreciation of his time, Nathan even got to go up in the Tri-Motor!

Thankful that Nathan could have that experience and that the afternoon storm held off until Nathan was done at the airport. 

And now I've been enjoying a quiet week getting things in order...cleaning up after the moving out process and dealing with paperwork that had been put on the backburner and tackling miscellaneous other mundane tasks that still need doing. I've also been making sure that tuition bills are getting paid and class materials were all acquired. And I've continued my regular boot camp and climbing schedule and am starting to plan some new September goals.

Super thankful for this full life of mine...and also thankful that September is looking to be less crazy. :) Whew.