Thankful...in February

Okay...here we are again! It's my top ten "I'm annoyed, yet thankful" list for the month of February.

1. I am so completely annoyed that it's FLU season, and every time I turn around, someone near us has the stomach bug, a cough, a fever virus, a runny nose...it never ends! A few weeks ago, Maggie caught a weirdo bug, and ran a high fever (at 105.2 on both Motrin and Tylenol) that took us to the hospital! But, I'm thankful that with three little girls (two in school!) we've managed to stay relatively healthy. I'm also extremely thankful for hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes!

2. I'm annoyed that I finally got the Wii Fit, and once on it, it proceeded to make my "mii" look fat, and label my Wii Fit "age" as forty-four years old!!! I'm only thirty-one y'all! But, I'm thankful that it's super fun, and an easy way to track my progress...and, the pounds are slowly but surely coming off! Best of all, with a little work, I've gotten my Wii Fit "age" down to TWENTY NINE! Take that, fat little Mii!

3. I'm annoyed that almost everything that I like to eat is bad for me...why can't God just take all the fat, cholesterol, and calories out of chocolate, pizza, french fries, cheese, wine, etc...I mean, seriously! I like broccoli and all, but I probably would like it much better if it was deep fried and dipped in cheese! But, I'm thankful that I am finding healthy things that I do like, and that it has been fun trying new recipes and figuring out how to "trick" my current recipes into being healthier versions of themselves.

4. I'm annoyed that just when I caught the workout "bug" and got really serious about it, and would love to be running/walking outside...it got so stinking COLD! But, I'm thankful that Maggie still takes a morning nap, and that's just enough time for me to hop on the treadmill for an hour. Do I look forward to that time? NO! But, I'm learning not to hate it...doesn't that count as something to be thankful for?

5. I'm annoyed that groceries are so darn expensive! Dow and I are trying to "downsize" our budget in this oh-so-fabulous economy, and food cost is one of the areas that we're trying to watch. Wow, is it a tough job! But, I'm thankful that I've found this nifty little tool called "The Grocery Game" and have been saving tons of money ever since! It's a tool that helps to pair the store sales with coupons to maximize your savings, and it really does work. I'm averaging about $100 a week for our family of five...that's WAY down from what I was spending. That's breakfast, lunch, and dinner for seven days (and the girls brown bag it to school, too!). Yay me and The Grocery Game!

6. I'm annoyed that I'm sometimes a spoiled brat, and can be quite selfish when I want something. But, I'm thankful that I'm learning to separate my "wants" from my "needs" (again, part of the whole trimming the budget concept) and that I can determine when my inner spoiled brat is rearing her ugly head. I've named my inner brat "Nelly" (like the whiny, blond, curly headed brat on "Little House on the Prairie"?) and will chastise her on occasion. . .Wait, I'm now not only talking to myself, but I've given her a name. . .Hmmmm. . .does that mean that I'm totally nuts?

7. I'm annoyed that Maggie has developed her "squeal" and uses it often at the top of her lungs. She goes zero to sixty in about three seconds, and it is impossible for me to respond in the allotted time frame. She uses it for any reason: if she wants a banana (her favorite thing to eat), if she doesn't want a banana, if she wants you to hold her, if she wants you to put her down. I'm telling you, it's like nails on a blackboard, and it's loud! But, I'm thankful that she's developing her own little personality, and learns something new every single day. It's amazing for me as her mother to watch her little mind working, and to see her eyes light up over something new.

8. I'm annoyed that now that I'm trying to up my walk/run to more of a run/walk, it's getting more important for me to develop a ipod play list that has a killer beat. I'm really having a hard time finding songs that aren't "I hate my man, let's kill him and his big boobed and big booty-ed mistress" themed. Seriously! Where are the "I love my man, I have three kids with him, and he occasionally brings me flowers" songs with a good beat that I can run to? I mean, I love my Beyonce with the rest of y'all, but this is getting a little hard to handle. I don't even know what I have to be thankful for on this one. . I'm just waiting for y'all to give it to me!

9. I'm annoyed that it takes all day, every day to keep this house in order. Between the laundry, the cleaning, the cooking, the shopping, the carpooling....it never ends! But, I'm thankful that I'm back on the Flylady plan, and it works wonders! You can find it at The Flylady, and it has seriously changed my life. She is all about doing what you can do in the time that you have, and I swear, my house has never been cleaner or more organized (and this is coming from a pretty anal neat freak!)

Okay...that's it, y'all. I tried my best, but it was all I could do to come up with nine things that I was totally annoyed about. So this month, I see a trying to "get it together" theme. I guess that I'm thankful that no matter how hard it is, and how much work it is, it's worth it! I feel like I'm getting more organized, more budgeted...my house is cleaner, I'm healthier, and I'm happier about it. Yay!

My Papa

A few weeks ago, my sweet Papa peacefully passed away. He was a wonderful man, and left a hole in our family. These past weeks have been tough, emotionally and physically, and I am glad that at least the "formal" part of the grieving is over. I am a Southern girl, from a Southern family, and people in Georgia do not play when it comes to funerals and "paying respects" when someone that they know dies. There was an overwhelming response to my Papa's death. My Grandma's house was overrun with well-meaning guests (coming to pay their respects) bearing gifts of fried chicken (my Uncle Derrell said it best, "A chicken doesn't have a chance in hell in the state of Georgia when someone dies!"), homemade dishes (potato salad, macaroni and cheese, butter beans, creamed corn...), and the most wonderful desserts that you can imagine (pumpkin pie, pecan pie, a sixteen layer chocolate cake, and a "honey bun cake"...yes...a cake made out of honey buns and heaven. It was the best thing that I have ever put in my mouth!). At the visitation at the funeral home, we were again surprised by the number of people who came to let us know how much my Papa meant to them, and the beautiful flowers that were sent. We didn't expect that kind of response, and couldn't be more grateful to these sweet souls who did their best to make this difficult time easier for my family.

Once I thought about it, we really shouldn't have been surprised. My Papa was a one-of-a-kind, thoughtful, strong, Godly man. He was a wonderful builder, but made "God's work" his career later in life. He was a "fire and brimstone" country preacher, but at the same time made it known that his God was a loving, kind, and generous God with whom he had a personal friendship. It was said at his funeral that he was opinionated, and if you didn't want to know what he thought, you shouldn't ask him. I think that was putting it mildly. Most of the time, you got what he thought whether you asked him or not! I remember when I was younger (probably around 12 or 13) and our family went on a beach trip. Papa always had heart problems, and the doctor had him on a strict walking regiment every day. He loved to walk on the beach, and would do so every morning and every afternoon of the trip. Sometimes, I would walk with him, and our discussions would inevitably turn to our faith and the Bible. While we agreed on the fundamentals, we did not agree on some of the finer points of our faith, and on this particular day were debating the role of women in the church. He was old school, very conservative, and very traditional. I was young, and very precocious (I know, that's so hard to imagine!). As a female, I had a very hard time agreeing with him that women shouldn't be ministers, deacons, and leaders in the church. (A belief that I still have!) As we debated, my temper flared, and I blurted out, "Well, I just have a really hard time believing that God didn't put a voice in a woman just because He also gave her a vagina!" He turned, looked at me, and said something like this, "No, God gave you a voice, you just have learn how to use it. Whether you like it or not, women are different than men, and when a woman is at her best, the softer she speaks, the more she is heard."

I don't know that I've ever told anyone that story, but it is near to my heart, and I reflect on it often. I still can't believe that my sweet, old-fashioned Papa got over the fact that his granddaughter looked him in the eye and said "vagina" and still managed to teach her one of the best lessons she's ever learned. I am a very opinionated, very talkative, very outspoken Southern girl, and sometimes have a hard time with the "labels" that are put on people for any reason. The "women" roles are especially hard for me to swallow. But, I can't deny the fact that women are created differently, and that our stregnth is in our softness. The lesson that my Papa very successfully taught me that day was that women and men aren't better or worse, just different. I could do everything that a man can do and try my best to be as good as a man (and probably somewhat succeed), or I could revel in the fact that I am a woman, and be phenomenal!

My Papa was many things, and he will be so very missed. I know that he's the reason that I pray the way that I do...I remember him saying, "Jenny, just talk to Him like He's sitting in that chair." I know that he's the reason behind my family's notorious quick wit and sense of humor...my Daddy said that Papa "laughed all over himself." He and my Grandma's love for each other was the best model I could ever have for how a loving, Godly marriage should be, and one that Dow and I aspire to. He was definitely the center of our family. He had a profound effect on the woman, the mother, the wife, the daughter, the friend, and the Christian that I am, and I am so grateful for the time that I was able to be loved by and taught by him.