TToT — March 23

I realized today that I forgot to write Ten Things of Thankful last week!

Does that mean that I wasn’t grateful for anything last week? Absolutely not! It simply means that I forgot because I was pretty busy.

What was I busy with? Well, I was quite honored to be chosen as the ¹Poet of the Week for the W3 Challenge. That means that the previous Poet of the Week (Val/Murisopsis) liked my poem, Personal Creed, so much that she chose me to be the next one. It also meant that I was charged with the task of choosing the next Poet of the Week by giving my own challenge. I challenged the poets to tell me a story in any poetic form.

That meant that I was reading, rereading, commenting, and rereading again (is that re-rereading?) the poems that were submitted for my prompt. Gosh, I loved so many of those poems. In the end, I chose a poem by a poet I don’t remember having read before — Jaideep Khanduja — who wrote a poem called, ²‘You, Me, and the Catastrophe of Love (A Love Story With a Side of Chaos)’. I laughed. I cried. I wish I lost 15 pounds, (obscure Stephen Colbert reference), but I mostly fell in love with this poem.

So — there you have it. My excuse for not writing a gratitude post, and two things for which I’m grateful.

For over a year now, I’ve been working two jobs. My first job — at a fitness facility — is literally the first full time job I’ve held since 1984. When my oldest son was born, I quit working. I did a little part-time work here and part-time there. I’ve learned that if you want to impress “accomplished” people, just tell them that you’ve lifeguarded part-time or been a stay-at-home mom. They’ll offer glib patronizing nonsense. Meh.

Anyway, I took a job working full-time at the front desk at the fitness facility in 2022. As it turned out, I asked too many questions and moved up the ranks. I’m now in my own office selling memberships. I miss the front desk. Members tell me they miss seeing me. I tell them that they moved me into an office to keep me out of trouble. That may be partially true.

All this is to say that I am thankful for ³my job at the gym.

Recently we got a new facility director. I met with him Friday to ⁴pitch an idea for a new position: Senior Specialist. We focus on families and kids and young adults, but our country is aging. Heck, I’m aging! I want someone to understand and be the voice for our seniors. I have SO many ideas.

I pitched my idea. ⁵It was well-received. YAY! Now, it has to work its way up through Foundation that oversees us.

In the meantime, however, my second job is at a church. I told the rector in January that I couldn’t continue the two-job routine. Honestly, I loved that job too — maybe more than the gym job. I needed the benefits offered by the gym so I put in my resignation at the church. ⁶The rector hired my replacement. I worked with her last week to train her — and, just like that, I’m done. It’s a relief. Imagine working only 40 hours in a week. I’ll find out this next week.

Quick — four more things for which I am thankful

⁷Lunch with my son and his family today. Delightful!

⁸A lesiurely walk on a nature boardwalk through a swamp

⁹Pussywillows — I saw them in the swamp. I love pussywillows.

¹⁰An edgy sermon at church, reminding us that God is the God of the oppressed. (Exodus 3:7-9) “I hated that sermon,” one woman whispered to me as she passed me on the way out of church. I smiled inwardly and was grateful. Maybe she will think about what was said.