November Gratitude

All over facebook, people are taking a status update a day to give thanks this month.
It makes sense, what with thanksgiving around the corner and all.
I am not sure I want or need all 750of my facebook friends to know what I am grateful for at every turn so I am modifying the task and going to try and do it on my blog which is a much more intimate forum. I invite anyone and everyone who is so inclined to join me in taking a few minutes and remembering what we are grateful for in whatever forum you so choose.

Nov 1: I am grateful that my stomach troubles (possible crohn's disease-markers in the blood samples are not definitive to confirm diagnosis) are finally on the mend - without medical intervention, at this point. I did go through 7 weeks of daily diarrhea and then another 2.5 weeks of bloating and cramping and major flatulence issues. Most of that has subsided and now I have a much less severe case of flatulence to deal with. I have "postponed" the colonoscopy that was scheduled since the flare-up is pretty much over. After speaking with the dr, I called the nurse back the next day to make sure we had made a good decision. She suggested that I get in touch at the first of the year after all the stresses of the holidays. I like the fact that she validated the point that it may need intervention in the future and that now we have an action plan for when and what to do.

Nov 2: I am grateful that my oldest son finally had a positive education-related experience in last night's awards ceremony and celebration for more than a year's work at Kumon. Since the whole reason for having Kumon in our lives was the fact that he needed a boost in the reading dept and that he is still not on grade level according to their standard of measure, I am happy that at least he got recognition for all the work he has put in. Yael, may need to begin math study there just so that she has the opportunity to get a medal after putting in all the hard work. We as parents have really set up a bad situation in that Jonathan has all kinds of trophies and medals from his various sports teams and camps and that little Yael, subscribing to the poor middle child syndrome, has virtually none because she has been less active in after-school activities.
Thankfully (see what I did there?) she is a gregarious child and makes friends easily so that she has been the recipient of many more "play-dates" than her older brother.
But who's keeping count?
They are, obviously!

 

Yael actually shot this pic of her brother.

 

I love these faces, with or without the face paint :)