Odds & Ends #1
It’s a wet, cold and blustery day here in Dallas, and Winnie has developed this new little habit of “Pee-Pee on the Patio,” where he takes two steps out his dog door and, well, pee-pees on the patio instead of going in the yard. Guys, I think he’s getting a little senile, my poor little old feller. I find him in the bedroom closet in the dark just staring at the wall like Daisy used to do. Hopefully he can keep his wits about him for another couple of years, at least. I need my dog.
Christmas is apparently in full swing down here. One of my favorite radio stations (yes, Annelle, I still listen to the radio) is “All Christmas, All the Time” already! I’m not sure how I feel about it. I mean, I’m already burning my Christmas candles and sorting my decorations, so I can’t complain. I even went to the Bath & Body Works today to pick up more Fresh Balsam scents before the Christmas rush; that’s how serious I am about this year, so I guess: Bring on the Yuletide!
But even so, I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. My parents, brothers, sister-in-law, niece and nephews are all coming down here this year instead of my making the trek up to Missouri. On the one hand, I will miss the annual 4-alarm Kalin Thanksgiving extravaganza with 15 people in my parents’ 1500 square foot house (resplendent with kids eating off TV trays in the living room while the Cowboys game is on); on the other, I will not miss that miserable drive that I’ve done for 25 years to the point where I know every pothole and speed trap on Highway 69.
But speaking of Thanksgiving and being full of gratitude, there’s no way I was born to just pay bills and die, but some days it just feels like it, and my attitude in general is not good. I’ve realized lately that I am an ungrateful cretin. One of the gals at work does a Thankful Thursday slide that the team is asked to contribute to, and to my everlasting chagrin, I have a hard time coming up with things I am grateful for. There’s the usual: great God, parents, family, health, dog, job, house, car (generally in that order) in a general way, but am I specifically grateful for these things and others? Like the other day, getting on to the Dallas North Tollway, which, if you’ve ever tried to merge on to that travesty, you know what I’m talking about: I was speeding up the on ramp to merge. There was no gap, and no one seemed particulary eager to give me one. I prayed, “Lord, I need a gap here,” and just like that, one opened. (And yes, Annelle, I pray.)
I want to be thankful for things like that. I want to be the kind of person who appreciates the little things, like a gap in traffic and the smell of a Bath & Body Works Fresh Balsam candle and my volleyball-playing niece’s little jog to the service line, which is so damn cute.
On a completely random note (and I’m so late to this party), I ran across a TikTok craze this morning: “Holy Spirit, Activate!” Google it if you must, but it’s worth taking a look at. I’m not completely sure it’s not funny as hell at best and irreverent at worst, but it made me giggle. Just the same, I’ll be asking the Holy Spirit to activate my gratitude this season.
