I am not kidding.

I am so ready for fall temperatures, and this humidity seals the deal for me – I could not live in a climate that is like this year round. I don’t know how you Floridians and coastal people do it. No worries about overcrowding from us – we WILL NOT be moving there.

My sports bra tells me so.

After a 5 mile morning walk when it is 67 degrees and breezy but is also 116% humid the entire time, that 5 mile walk is NOTHING compared to trying to peel out of a sports bra.

I have to go into the closet without the light on, make sure Sam stays outside on the porch to cool down, so I can go to battle with the stretchy sopping wet straight-jackety contraption that had to have been invented by a comedian or a man with revenge on his mind.

I am grateful for sports bras because they do what they do and do it well.

I am grateful for privacy.

I am grateful for the ability to peel off the torture chamber, but these rotator cuffs are beginning to scream, just sayin’.

And I am grateful for cold fronts and the promise of a LOVERLY week of cool down.

It has been a week. From a road trip to Arkansas last Saturday and back the same day, to another road trip to Arkansas on Wednesday and back the same day, to a road trip to small town USA yesterday and back to KC today, less than 24 hours later, to a third road trip to Arkansas tomorrow and back the same day…I am tuckered out.

Sam said, “tuckered out” yesterday and I laughed hard on the inside, but then I thought about it and yes, that describes me at the end of this week.

Throw in 5:00 am wake-up every day, thank you Banana and/or Split aka my new alarms, and 5.2 miles walked by 7 am every day, I am tuckered out.

However. I am so grateful for a comfortable vehicle to ride in.

I am grateful for a husband who is a joy to travel beside and drives the whole way(s) so I can work on this laptop.

I am grateful for changing landscapes, from the manicured lawns of Overland Park to tree covered hills that my brother calls Ozark mountains, to the gorgeous beauty of the Flint Hills, and finally, miles and miles and miles of farm fields dotted with cattle.

I am grateful for the woman who walks her baby every morning, pushing her little stroller. Sam pointed out to me yesterday morning to look inside when she walked by. Her baby is a cat. That might be bizarre to Sam, but I thought it was adorable. He nixed the idea of ordering a stroller for our babies.

I am grateful for a morning that included gentle thunder and big raindrops, even if I was a mile from home.

I am grateful for the pre-dawn views that are the best backdrop for quiet worship. Most days now we have this view:

But this morning, I had this view:

I do not understand how people can sleep until almost noon. Or even 9 am. I used to be that people. I am no longer that people, however. The best part of the day is the beginning, full of promise and hope for a great day. Until the best part of the day is the ending, when the day is done and I can put the road trips to rest and crawl into a comfortable bed.

That is what I am looking forward to tonight…since I am tuckered out.

I am very grateful I was not called to be a nurse. I have issues with adult personal space. I have issues with adult hygiene. I have issues with other adult people issues like medical grossness.

It is true, I cannot cover it up.

Odd, I don’t have near the sensitive stomach when it comes to grandchildren. I think that must be the Mom gene that God made and gave to me. I can deal with grandchild gross for the most part – however, I am slightly concerned that I may someday have to come to terms with grandchildren becoming adults with hygiene and unpleasant/hideous medical issues…

When I was a little girl, my mom would clip her fingernails in the car and I thought I might actually die. Not actually actually. I was just exaggeratingly mortified. That’s all.

When people talk about skin care and the lack thereof or talk about that show on cable called “Dr. P*mplepopper,” I kind of dry heave. There. That word. Huh-uh. Can’t do it.

I don’t know how nurses do it – how they talk about the gross things and deal with the disgusting things and clean up the repugnant nastiness that our bodies create.

I am just so grateful God knew I wasn’t cut out for that kind of sacrifice.

This morning, I was minding my own business and working away at my computer when the phone rang here in the office. It was “Mrs. Smith” and she didn’t let me get in a word before she proceeded to tell me her doctor recommended she call and set up an ENT appointment for her ear infection that started about 3 weeks ago and she began having green gook come out of it last week…

“Uh, ma’am, excuse me, ma’am. (Please do not say another word because I am dry heaving on this end.) You have the wrong number.”

I cannot deal. The flakes, the wax, the goo, the clippings, the yuck. I am nauseated just typing this.

I am sooooo grateful I was not called to be a nurse.

I am sooooo grateful others were and can take care of Mrs. Smith and all the adults who have issues.

I am sooooo grateful my grandchildren are still sweet and cute and little and haven’t accumulated, you know…issues…

I went for a 5 mile walk today on this anniversary of my first bone infection surgery of a year ago. It was 5:45 am. The sun was making its way around the earth but had not yet shown its face, so my companion was the moonlight, streetlights, crickets, and the early morning on-the-way-to-workers.

I reallllly do not like getting up at 5:30 am. I always dread it. But then I am glad I forced myself once I get going down the street.

I am grateful for this quiet beginning to the day.

I am grateful Sam was able to sleep longer and I didn’t wake him.

I am grateful for an Audible membership to listen to books as I walk.

I am grateful deer are peaceful creatures and these city deer do not mind humans. I know it is not good for them, but it sure is fun to walk and happen upon one or more in these early mornings.

I am grateful for kind on-the-way-to-workers who patiently wait for me to get across the street.

I am grateful to be learning as I walk, thanks to an enlightening book.

I am grateful for the gift of seeing the bunnies and squirrels and cats and occasionally the fox.

I am grateful to have heard an owl this morning.

I am grateful to have experienced all this nature even in the middle of city.

However.

When you are walking along, deep into the topic in your ears and enjoying the pre-dawn beauty all around and don’t notice the trap you are about to faceplant into…

Let’s just say I am finding it difficult to be grateful for the incredible artwork creation that caused me to spazz dance in front of the neighbors at 6:30 am.

I am grateful for an office with a view.

I am grateful for people who wear t-shirts with funny sayings that make me smile.

I am grateful for uneven sidewalks – they make me pay closer attention.

I am grateful to have heard the first chick-a-dee of the season this morning.

I am grateful for the neighborhood fox.

I am grateful for a gentle breeze.

I am grateful I can see all the colors.

I am grateful for good shoes that keep my feet from hurting.

I am grateful to reflect on one year ago today when I entered the hospital not knowing how serious it was going to be. Most anniversaries are good because they are a time for reflection about beginnings. Sometimes those beginnings are not so great, but anniversaries allow us to see how far we’ve come.

So, I am grateful for God’s complete healing and the gift it is to walk.

I am grateful for simple pleasures, like being directly underneath a brave soul who is way up high in a balloon.

Or like seeing the neighborhood fox in front of our house before 7 am this morning on our walk.

I am grateful for the early morning sounds of late summer – the crickets and an occasional cicada and katydid providing background music for our walk while we were listening to the early birds singing their songs.

I am grateful for a Dad who is doing so well.

I am grateful for fun news from a sister.

I am grateful for a 2-year-old birthday.

I am grateful for a ceiling fan of cool air.

I am grateful for cats that make me laugh.

I am grateful for face masks and those who wear them.

I am grateful for a husband who hangs out in my office.

I am grateful for phone calls with a daughter.

I am grateful for the lessons I am learning from good books, from our small group, from powerful messages on Sunday, from observing how others are responding to the pandemic issues.

And I am grateful for the end to this day, and for a boss who let me finish the day at home. Now, to get up, up, and away from the couch to go find more to be grateful for on an evening walk…

I am grateful for the beauty of a leaf.

I am grateful for the sound of cutting a crisp apple.

I am grateful I can hear the awful summer sounds of cicadas.

I am grateful for the energy to get up early.

I am grateful for a new bed that makes all other beds a challenge.

I am grateful for a co-worker who prompted me to take a break.

I am grateful for the feeling of surprising my brother and sister-in-law with great news.

I am grateful for a shower after being outside in the humidity.

I am grateful when I am focused and not distracted.

I am grateful for quiet reflection.

I am grateful for the feel of a cat’s soft fur.

I am grateful that even though it is so hot outside, it is also very green.

I am grateful that we like to be together and take road trips.

I am grateful for a new piano book to learn new music for Thursdays.

I am grateful for a text from my oldest granddaughter.

I am grateful for a vehicle that is fixed and just like new.

And finally,

I am grateful for the best 2021 news received today:

Hearing rain and thunder after too long

Pulling all the plastic off a new, large appliance for the kitchen

Standing back and looking at your work and feeling oh so proud

A 100 degree day with an ice cold soda in a can, popping that top and hearing the hisssssssssss

Putting the last piece of the difficult puzzle in place

Finding the perfect candidate for the job and getting a response that they are interested in hearing more

A clean bathroom and all the clothes put away and ironing done

Seeing the motorcycle that whizzed past on the interstate pulled over by a highway patrol officer

*****

These are the types of things that are so satisfying. I like that space. Today, I am grateful for things that are so satisfying and put me in that space.

I’m having a little trouble with something else, though…the exception to satisfying.

The exception? Locusts. Locust sounds are not satisfying. They are fingernails on a chalkboard to this “end summer now” person. Locust buzz is the sound I associate with the doggggggggg days of summer when the heat and humidity just will not go away. It is the sound of “football season cannot get here soon enough.” It is the sound of “stay inside and dream of hot cocoa and jackets and cold air hitting your face when you open the door to go outside.”

But for all the other things, I am grateful.

I am also grateful it is Friday, and great adventures await the weekend and all next week.

Would you rather…have all the money you could ever want but live smack dab in the middle of the ugliest of ugly, or, have very little money but live in the most beautiful place in the world?

This week, we have been in our happy place at the base of a mountain in cool, dry air in the wildflower capital of Colorado. Last night, Sam struck up a conversation with the night supervisor at the front desk, and when he was asked how long he had been here, he said, “three years, full time.” He loves it, being a guy from Tennessee, but he said the housing was terrible. “My situation is ‘poverty with a beautiful view.'”

The week has been another chapter finished in this story we are writing. It is most likely our last venture to this part of the world, made possible thanks to Sam’s work relationships and one last invitation to take part in a work retreat as he is now retired from the co-op world. We have participated in this annual retreat seven times and over the years met some forever friends who have been by our side through some pretty dark times and some really good times, too. It was very bittersweet as we left The Lodge this morning.

I am grateful for a cousin who invited us to spend the night on our way to the base of the mountain. The time with Patricia and her husband was quality, and as we drove away on Sunday morning, Sam said, “THAT made our whole trip worth it, Rhonda.” And it was just the beginning of a great week.

I am grateful for a room big enough to hang out with friends in the evenings and just be together at the base of a mountain with a view sent from God.

I am grateful for the kindness of work acquaintances who made Sam feel like he was still a part of the group.

I am grateful for an afternoon in the backseat of an ATV.

I am grateful for happy dogs who get to go on vacation with their owners. Banana and Split would have loved going on vacation, I am certain.

I am grateful for flowers, flowers, and more flowers everywhere. I have always loved flowers, and there can never be enough of them.

I am grateful for a drive up to Kebler Pass to see what we could see on a cloudy, cool, and sometimes rainy afternoon. The flowers were still flowering, the wildlife was on display, the cell reception was null and void, and the company sitting next to me was my favorite.

I am grateful for a sunroof that opened all the way so I could stand on the seat and take all the pictures I wanted of Bullwinkle.

I am grateful for wonderful meals the entire week – pizza in the middle of a mountain rain, pizza in the room with friends, fresh fruit every morning, a sandwich at the end of the 10 mile trek up the mountain, and retreat meals that were good enough to pile the food high on my plate.

I am grateful for a few pennies found this week on random streets, reminding me that “In GOD, we trust.”

I am grateful that Sam took care of our shoes last night and got all the mud off them, and I am grateful that he loaded the pickup this morning while I got ready.

I am grateful for an hour today in Woodland Park on our way home, to sit at a picnic table at a barbecue restaurant, participate on a work Zoom call, and eat a really good smoked chicken sandwich.

I am grateful for a washer and dryer in the room, so that when we get back home tonight, I can unpack clean clothes.

I am grateful for my own bed, especially now that it is a really nice bed. It sure does make sleeping away from home a lot harder.

And I am grateful for beautiful views that don’t cost a thing except the time it takes to notice them.

Gratitude is spilling over this week, for sure. All the above makes me smile constantly…

I am grateful for quality time spent with my two girls with very little distraction and interruption.

I am grateful for prayers answered “yes.”

I am grateful for a safe trip with very little drama.

I am grateful for wonderful weather.

I am grateful for hugs and laughter.

I am grateful for reconnection.

And I am grateful for healing.