Well. My dear Blog I am sorry for neglecting you. The thing is that I have so much to write about. I do not know where to start. So I will start at the beginning (of the silence) and hopefully by scattering my thoughts I will become regular at blogging again 
So, where shall I start? This is what I’ve heard is OCD…. At least a certain kind, where you have so much going on you (perhaps) cannot start, I heard it in a movie, the girl was talking about housework…. Wait it’s in Julie and Julia. But I’m happy. My house (gasp) is tidy. I’m even hiring the rug doctor in a few hours. I’ve got a little wish that not only will it make the carpets ‘soft and bouncy’ (yep it said that on the review!) It will grab things I no longer need/want/use and somehow dispose of them into it’s MASSIVE ‘industrial sized’ hoover-upper-thing. Ok so now you know my secret wish it does sound a little um, far-fetched doesn’t it? heehee 
The other thing about today is that the big charity bag is being collected. I love this day – well, not as much as going out for coffee, or celebrating someone… but still! It means that the bags and bags and bags and bags of clothes/toys/books/”brick-a-brack(ok who willingly purchases this… I for sure don’t but it accumulates!) can be collected and the charity gets money: and my house gets a tiny bit emptier…. So I will help my friendly rug doctor along and allow it to make my carpets ‘bouncy and soft’ and hopefully back to their original condition – of course I’ll let you know… [this section was called 'housework'. Now onto more deeper things!]
Thankfulness: I have blogged on thankfulness, a lot. Type it into the search bar up there on the right hand side. I even tried the 1000 things to be thankful for, and even though it didn’t work on my blog so well, my life shows my thankfulness. Not only to God but to people. Not only to The One who made it all possible, but to friends – and the best kind of friends – family – and those God has placed around me. I like to give compliments. Who doesn’t like to receive them? No-one. So, the lady in the nice, new, big Tescos (which is fab and I will go back there time and again, and people who say it’s ‘too big’ etc… go back again and only go down a few aisles it will feel smaller. It’s an amazing store ) The checkoutlady was so helpful, more than a normal checkoutlady. She was chatty and kind, and talked to Ben. So off I went to Customer Services to tell them – she needed to know how thankful I was for her loveliness. I wonder how often it would have come more naturally to complain rather than compliment in the past. The Staff told me that people ‘don’t usually do that’ and I was pleased I’d made her day in a teeny weeny way.
Last week, I went on a school trip with my precious daughter’s school. And I have to say going back into the classroom for the first time in over 4 years – ahhhhh – ok I’ll say it… I missed it. (did you just hear that..?!) I honestly did. I loved the way the children told the teachers their stories when they saw her. I loved the way the children clambered over each other to sit close to the teacher. I loved the way they told their news, and even though it wasn’t life changing for the teacher, she heard every word and made each one feel special. I loved the way they did their songs to get them sitting on the carpet nicely. I loved the way a little boys’ yoghurt exploded and he came to me for help………. And my proudest moment: Beth puts up her hand and says “Miss, my mummy is in the classroom – look she’s there, Hi mummy!” I loved being ‘Bethany’s Mummy’ for the morning. I never missed school before – I must have forgotten a lot of it. Can you believe it? And no, I’m not yet ready for a career change (!) But I am so glad that I made a wise career choice and have my degree and teacher qualification with me so that if ever the time was right: I’ll be ready. The classroom was bright and the teacher was bubbly – the whole R year were delightful. I couldn’t resist calling the Head later that day to thank her for such a wonderful school, and for giving my daughter such a brilliant start in her school life – the lovely head assured me she would pass on my compliments as it wasn’t often they had phone calls like this. Knowing my daughter was in the best environment in a loving and caring and educational atmosphered means so much to me. I had to thank them (kind of small to use words in retrospect isn’t it…? But I used them well!)
The ten leppers. I don’t fully understand this scripture in Luke 17 (especially if you read the whole chapter… Will ponder some more and ask some people!) But the gist of several verses is that there are 10 lepers with gross skin diseases. They all get healed and only one (who turns out to be an alien – well, a samaritan) returns to thank Jesus. That means that 90% forgot/got too busy with their new life/couldn’t be bothered etc…. I don’t want to be bundled up into the 90%. It’s harder to be thankful, but a conscious effort makes it become natural: try it. Life will be easier, your friends will want to be around you, and people will wonder why you glow…. Looking for things to be thankful for takes the bad from a ‘bad day’ because there’s always so much to look around and see that will shift your focus. And that I can promise you!
I still have more to say, but my little boy has come down for a snuggle. Bringing with him 3 dogs of various sizes He asked for a ‘tanket’ (blanket) and now he’s all cosy, the coffee pot is almost all finished, his gingerbread man is eaten – well apart from the arms.
I am thankful for all I have been given, for the lovely people God has placed in my life, for all that I will do today. I get to see Beth in her Christmas play – this year she is a villager, last year she was the ‘main star’ (I think that was a pun from her fab preschool staff; as she was!) and the year before she was a little angel. And. I’m thankful that you wanted to read my blog – thank you xox
