Grateful Thursday

I've been undisciplined lately about doing these grateful posts, missing one completely and then last week only remembering on Friday afternoon. These last couple weeks have been hard on me, and it's times like these that I should cling to these posts rather than brush them aside.

I'm trying to come to terms with my professional life, trying to figure out if this is really what I want to "do," and if it's not, what that means. Does it mean I quit? Hold out here while I look? Accept the fact that if I work hard enough here I'll make a lot of money and then eventually will be able to do exactly what I want to do without a lot of the start-up problems?

I'm beginning to lean toward the last because:
A) These are my friends here and I can't leave them high and dry
B) If I were to quit, there's no one hiring right now, and any job that I could get that is less stressful would be boring, and then I'd be continually bored to death. Been there, done that, not fun.
C) I'm ok biding my time for a while, and most days I like my work.

This week, I'm particularly grateful for:

1) I'm getting my haircut tomorrow morning. My bangs have grown out all funky and they're poking me in the eyes.
2) A trip to see my grandmother this weekend. We're going out for catfish with her, and I'm happy to still be able to take small trips with her. In the next couple years she's not going to be able to leave the dementia ward anymore-- it will be too dangerous.
3) Dog safety seats. I'm buying a booster seat for Bub on Saturday. It's so cool-- it's like a bed, but it's high enough that he can see out the window, and it straps in with the seat belt like a child seat, with a leash to hold him in the bed. He hates kennels because he can't see out of the window, but it's so dangerous to have him loose in the car. I really hope this works.
4) Sweet corn and crab chowder with tortilla chips for lunch today. I'm excited. Hopefully it tastes as good as it sounds.
5) Scrabble on the iPhone. I've been playing against my brother-in-law all week. Who knew some of these words we're coming up with actually existed?

Even if I'm grateful for just small things lately, even if that's all I can muster, it's ok because the small things point to the big things-- soup means I have food, I can afford good food, and a lot of people don't and can't. Haircuts mean I have the luxury of worrying about small things like my appearance. And eating catfish with my grandmother leads me to remember how lucky I am to have had, and still have, such loving family members and friends in my life. It puts everything else in perspective, leaving my work troubles looking so very small.