TToT — February 15, 2025

Ten Things of Thankful — for what it’s worth. I’m still not feeling 100%

I am thankful for ¹sick time at work. Nobody even questioned my taking Monday, or working shortened days Wednesday through Friday. (I’ll get to Tuesday in a sec.)

“Do what you need to do.” “Take your time.” “It’s important that you give yourself time to recover.” These were all things I heard from my co-workers, along with offers to bring food. It was nice to feel seen and cared for.

On Tuesday, I had jury duty. I thought about calling and telling the court I was sick, but thought that sitting in a courtroom wouldn’t be physically taxing and if I went I wouldn’t have to use another sick day. Here are my jury duty thankfuls:

²The system — Big picture, I think it’s a pretty darn good system. There were ninety random people thrown into the courtroom that day. I recognized several: a physician, two swim-moms from my coaching days, a homeschool mom, and a retired greenhouse director. The randomness, the mix of backgrounds and education levels, all seemed to set a good stage for putting together a good jury.

(Sidenote: when accusations are made about “rigged” juries, I’m not sure how that can happen. The two attorneys can be pretty thorough sifting out people who may have serious biases.)

³The chairs in the jury box — I was called in the first round. The chairs were pretty darn comfortable. They were wide, cushioned, and they swiveled.

⁴Lunch — I didn’t bring lunch. My appetite has been off. As it turned out, though, we all had to leave the courthouse from noon to one. Fortunately, I knew where I could go in town for an easy lunch. At a little coffee shop, I got a bowl of soup which was perfect.

⁵ I didn’t get selected for the jury. It was a sexual abuse case involving a father and his now-adult daughter. Honestly, I would have done it as a civic duty, but I’m glad that I didn’t have to listen to that testimony.

⁶ The Kingston Trio — I have a friend with a functional CD player. “Got any CDs?” he asked me earlier this week. Actually, yes, I do — shoeboxes full. I brought him an odd mix of Scottish music, the Beatles played by the Boston Pops, and The Kingston Trio. Oh, The Kingston Trio — I LOVE The Kingston Trio. It had been years and years since I had listened, but I still knew every word of every song. For your listening enjoyment, here’s a sweet Kingston Trio song:

I read multiple books at a time. Non-fiction, for the most part, so it’s easy to read a little section and then let it simmer in soup-pot at the back of my brain. Three books/authors that I’m currently reading and am thankful for: ⁷The Yellow Leaves by Frederick Buechner, ⁸Reading in Bed by Brian Doyle, and ⁹Draft No. 4 by John McPhee.

From my window, I’ve been watching a flock of ¹⁰wild turkeys gathering daily near the river. They strut around. Some roost in the trees. Occasionally one will spread his wings wide in a gesture of big-ness. I am terrible at estimating distances, but I’d say that it’s more than a football field away. Turkeys are pretty unmistakable, though, even from that distance. Anyway, I finally dug out my father’s binoculars so I could really observe them — and I set the binoculars by the window. Of course, I haven’t seen the turkeys since then. Still, I’m thankful. And I’m ready.