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"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage."
--Martin Luther

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things For Which I Am Grateful

I've taken a break from TTT lately, mostly because the topics weren't very interesting to me, but this week's topic (hosted, as always, by The Broke and the Bookish), is one that definitely applies. I've divided it into bookish and non-bookish items.  :-)

I Am Thankful For:
1.  The public library:  I've praised it before, but I can't get enough of my local library!

2.  Those moments when you know you have stuff to do, but you just can't put that book down.

3.  Jane Austen.  Always.

4.  My Kindle for being a constant companion

...And I'm Also Thankful For:
5.  My totally amazing husband:  Life has been crazy lately and we rarely get enough time together as we would like, but he is my constant supporter and I love him more each day.

6.  My family:  When I moved out on my own, traveling the world, I didn't realize how much I needed these people in my life.  Lately, it seems I appreciate them more and more.

7.  New life:  There have been so many babies born lately (five at work, one to my best friend, another to one of my oldest friends, etc.) and even more people are pregnant.  It baffles me how these little people just come into the world so tiny and helpless, and how we get the privilege of helping them learn and grow.

8.  Chocolate.  Duh.

9.  Airplanes:  I've tried to calculate this in the past, but I've likely taken over 100 flights in my life time, 8 in this past year alone.  Without airplanes, it would take me at least 24 hours to get to see my relatives down south, not to mention how long it would take to reach my beloved Germany.  As a linguist and a traveler, I am so grateful that I was born in the age of air travel.

10.  God, as the giver of all things, especially all of the above.

Saturday 9 November 2013

Feeling Blue

I've been feeling pretty down lately.  Last week was rough as I attended a funeral for a family friend who had Alzheimer's.  In addition, I'm dealing with a few other issues and November always gets me down with its grey and rainy weather.   Lately I've been feeling like life is moving so fast and I'm still getting nowhere.  Even good things, like two close friends having babies, haven't raised my mood so much as made me sad that I'm not able to see these friends and their little ones as much as I'd like.

Work has been crazy as we move into our busiest season, and I end up spending way more time at meetings than I would like.  It feels like I'm going in circles lately.

In addition, I've felt like I just don't have words to write any more.  I like blogging, but I get tripped up in keeping the balance between sharing what is meaningful to me without overdoing it.  

All that adds up to one fact:  I'm in a funk.  Friends, how do you deal with these low periods?  What cheers you up?