Amy Lu's View

“And I want to thank you, for giving me the best day of my life. Oh, just to be with you, is having the best day of my life.”

“Thank You” by Dido

I didn’t feel organized enough this year to observe 30 Days of Gratitude, but I would like to offer an Unnumbered Minutes of Gratitude list. I was partially inspired by and responding to the list I created for my 2014 gratitude post–I don’t feel the need to refute anything on my earlier list, but definitely want to reflect on things I am presently grateful for and have an updated list for the last year or so.

Are these the best days of my life? That seems a little grand, but, in the spirit on Dido’s song (which I did last week at online coffee house) maybe they are, as it’s enjoying the small things with those you love (even if “with” means via online channels) that makes are our days special.

I Want to Thank “You” for (not exhaustive or in order):

• Pants related happiness and comfort: The new pandemic jeans I successfully found online — bigger than my pre-pandemic jeans, and bling-free so safer for wearing for extended periods of time; my Harry Potter lounge pants that make me feel everything is right with the world, even though I don’t really play in the Harry Potter space; my new sherpa-lined joggers that are decadently soft and warm (and especially appreciated now that it’s too cold for my HP pants)
• Church storytime via Zoom: We do this every Sunday morning and today we got to do a special Thanksgiving edition (books about family, friends, and food–no Pilgrims!) I get to discover and share delightful children’s books and reconnect with my children’s librarian soul. Here’s my book list of books we’ve read so far: MSUS Storytime Books
• Not having to vacuum out the oven this Thanksgiving: I think everything needed for our soy-based roast (a Gardein holiday roast) will fit in the air fryer.
• Upgrade to our coffee situation: Now we have a subscription to Broadcast Coffee, a Seattle-based company that we discovered through our beloved podcast TBTL (We even walked by Broadcast Coffee when we were in Seattle, although we didn’t go in as it was closed for the day).
• Speaking of Seattle…OUR VACATION: We finally got to take our small boat cruise of the Salish Sea in the Northwest. I can’t possibly capture all my gratitude for this experience in a list but I have posted several blog posts trying to share some of the wonder…
• Tea! Just because I love coffee doesn’t mean I can’t also enjoy tea, especially to help warm up my hands during the day.
• Fall leaves: All the leaves are gone now, but the trees turned some really spectacular colors this year and seemed to stay around longer in the season, which was really an unexpected gift in light of this summer’s drought.
• Ted Lasso: Yes, we got on this bandwagon rather late but love this show even though it doesn’t feature any superheroes, aliens, witches, or anything sci-fi-ey (although we aren’t caught up with it yet so I guess it’s possible that Ted is an android?)
• Getting to see friends and loved ones in person! No, not everyone I hoped to or as often as I would have liked, but still a gift (or maybe more of a gift because it can’t be taken for granted?)
• Getting to eat at restaurants (and even getting to sit at a bar or two!): Again, not as often as I hoped for but better than not at all.
• Working at home permanently: It’s not for everyone, but it is definitely for me (at least at this point in the Amy timeline. Younger Amy may not have appreciated it but middle-aged Amy is living her best work life). I also recognize that many people would love to work from home and can’t so I feel especially grateful.
• Our Sunroom: Speaking of working from home…We’ve had our sunroom for at least 15 years, but I’ve really got to take full advantage of it since I’ve started working from home (and just being at home more in general). Hey, it turns out that watching birds is actually kind of interesting!

• Making theater in physical proximity with other people again: Yes, I get grumpy about having to wear masks at rehearsals (and having to put on real clothes and drive to rehearsal) but it is priceless to create theater with people without the filter of a screen. And I even got to perform in front of an audience again and hear their reactions and laughter (not just imagine they were out there somewhere, somehow). 
• Making music with other people again! Our band Pigeons From Hell has not only been able to rehearse regularly but we even got to play an outside gig in front of people (even if most of them seemed deeply disinterested).
• Chad’s original songs: Chad has been writing his own songs and I love getting to hear him work on them.
• Truffle (the fungus not the dessert) cheddar cheese from Imperfect Foods and sweet potato hummus (also from Imperfect): There are so many foods I could list, but these two delicacies were unexpected and may be transitory (I’m not sure how long Imperfect will stock them). 
• My smart phone (Pixel 4a) camera: Not only did my phone conveniently take great photos on our cruise (check out the sunset photos!) it also took great photos of my nature excursions close to home. Yes, there is a danger that I can spend too much time taking photos rather than actually experiencing whatever I’m documenting, but taking photos also encourages me to look at things with more wonder and in an effort to find beauty in unexpected places. AND my phone has a great portrait setting that allows me to take rather flattering selfies without feeling like I’m totally trying to deny the reality of how I look. 
• Latch hook: I’ve definitely blogged about this of late, but my rediscovered hobby of latch hooking has been such a grounding activity for me that it just doesn’t feel right NOT to give it another shout-out here. 
• Blogging: Yes, I just love blogging. It helps me feel reflective and accomplished and somewhat in control of the rush of time. And I’m extra thankful for anyone who makes the effort to read one of my posts.