The Gratitude Journal

I Am Thankful for Good Pictures

I am thankful for good pictures, and that does not include the picture on my driver’s license.  Yesterday, I had my driver’s license picture taken and I swear it is scary.  Of course, I think they make them look like that because they want us to know how our mug shots will look if we screw up and get caught at it.

Well, I know how we must have looked yesterday as several of us stood beside the painted concrete wall awaiting our little driver’s license.  We looked like criminals in a line-up.  I didn’t pay any attention to the picture on my DL when the lady handed me my renewed license with its new picture.  I probably would have asked for a retake!

Anyway, it had rained a little before I arrived at the drivers’ license station and of course, it rained as I dashed from the car to the building.  There are no mirrors on the walls of the building, so it’s kind of like a pot luck dinner when they take your picture.  You never know what you are going to get.

Well, this morning I was fumbling through my purse looking for my debit card and there was this creature on my driver’s license staring back at me.  I passed right over it until I realized that “creature” is me.  Oh, my God!

I look like a geriatric Janis Joplin!  I have always been known for having extra thick, extra course hair.  Most often I twist it up in a clasp or braid it into a French braid.  And, I can hardly wait to get it cut.  But, I am now growing my hair to give to the cancer society for a wig.  So, I have a while to go before it is cut.  In the meantime, when my hair is not secured, I look more like Pearl did in days long ago than I could have imagined. 

When I arrived at the license station yesterday I had it slicked back into pony tail.  But, once I realized that I was going to have my picture taken for the license, I pulled the band off it, hoping it would hang nicely behind my shoulders.  When the light flashed, my hair was hanging down my back, across my shoulders and down my chest, cascading in crimped waves that look like dynamite had been set off beneath it.

Well, we aren’t a family to send out holiday cards with our pictures on the front, but I can tell you that if we were I would head for Olan Mills and hope they have a good person with an air brush.  Oh, please.  My driver’s license is about as close to a mug shot as that horrible picture of Nick Nolte when he got popped for DUI.  I’m just not holding a bar of numbers in the picture.

I looked through a few family albums and I don’t always look like a 1960’s pop queen who didn’t age well.  So, today I am thankful for good pictures and hope that during the next four years I will have no reason to show my driver’s license picture to anyone.

I Am Thankful for the Public Library

Most everyone goes to the public library once in a while.  If you don’t, perhaps you should.  The library is one of the best bargains in the world today.  Don’t get me wrong.  I buy lots and lots of books.  There are some that I just have to make my own… anything by my (current) favorite author, Arturo Perez-Reverte.  But, to be honest I usually check the library first. 

Anyway, our little town has satellite libraries here and there for convenience.  And, these smaller libraries are convenient.  They prevents driving into the heart of town, circling the block several times to locate a parking place, and the inevitable parking ticket that comes from browsing too long.

I really love the little library I visit.  There is one woman there that is a particular jewel.  Of course, they are all most pleasant, but this one lady is the one I seek out.  She is a quiet spoken woman, not because of the library rules, but as a part of her nature.  I am envious of a necklace she wears.  It is a beautiful necklace that has a pendant “OM” attached.  That told me enough about her the first time I asked for her help.  When time permits, she is more than willing to lead me directly to the book or the section I need.  But, once there she makes great recommendations.  Well, it’s really nice to have someone available who knows books beyond the Dewey Decimal System.  (Does the library still use that system?  I suppose, but today it seems to be linked to a bank of computers rather than a huge chest of tiny drawers.)

Well, today I am most thankful for the public library.  My day started out in a hurry.  I had movies to return to the post box so I can have movies for Wednesday.  Then I headed to the gas station.  I had noticed that the price of a gallon of gas had increased by $ .13 over the past three days. 

Then, I dashed off to the drivers’ license station to wait, and wait, and wait.  At first I wasn’t too concerned.  My number was A 050.  I figured I would be in and out.  After all, 50 isn’t a big number.  What I didn’t realize was that there are several prefixes…. A and B and C.  Apparently, each of those categories was running full force.  I took a seat. 

The people in the waiting area were most interesting so I didn’t mind the wait at first.  There was an older gentleman sitting next to me.  I noticed that his number was A 049.  I felt pretty good about that since there seemed to be lots of confusion around the counters.  I planned to keep my eye on him.  Wherever he went, I would go next.  We were both there for renewals.  How hard could that be?

The gentleman was called to the Counter 1.  I watched as he headed to the end of the line… or the head of the line, depending on one’s perspective.  About five minutes later my number was called.  I went straight to Counter 1.  The gentleman was standing against the wall along with several others.  It reminded me of a police line-up.  As I walked to the Counter, another gentleman… one in the line-up… grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Get in line, lady.” He admonished me. 

I looked at Counter 1 and there was no line.  I tried to advance, but the man maintained his grip.  “Excuse me,” I said as I tried to pull away from his grasp.

“Get in line!”  He raised his voice.

Well, I didn’t see a line, unless I was to join the line against the wall.  Finally, a lady who seemed to be on the other side of Counter 2 motioned me to approach.  The man let go of my arm.

“Can I help you?”  She asked.  I explained that I had been called to Counter 1 to pick up my license.  But, oh no!  After producing my old driver’s license, my birth certificate and the form that had come in the mail, paying a fee and signing my name, I was told to get in the line along the wall.

That’s when it dawned on me.  They were going to take my picture.  I certainly had not planned on that.  If I had ordered my license online they would have used the same old picture.  But, if you set foot in the office you have to have your picture taken.  It really wasn’t time for my renewal, although I had received the mail notice.  But, I had to buy my tags and thought I would get my license renewed first.

You see, one of the big dogs, when she was a puppy… in that chewing stage… had stolen my wallet from my tote and chewed the edge of my face off the license while snooping through my purse.  Truth is, I really should have gotten a duplicate last year, but… Anyway, when I went to get my tags last year, the lady behind that desk in that building gave me a lecture about having a chewed up tag.  So, this year I preferred to wait in line to get my renewal done before going to purchase my sticker for my tag.  The wait surely could not equal the wrath of the woman behind the tag counter.

As I stood along the wall with the men folks, I noticed that the man who had gripped my arm had found nothing satisfactory in his day and was hell bent on making the rest of us enjoy his misery.  Now, Mr. A 049, the nice man I had been sitting beside in waiting, was not at all pleased with the unhappy man’s language.  He offered the man the opportunity to go in front of him.  I was grateful for the Mr. A 049.  But, the unhappy soul was suspect and would prefer to wait in line and complain rather than going first and getting out of the place.

Well, it was a most unpleasant time of elbowing, trying to back into the wall so others could pass, and trying to locate the iPod I knew was in my purse.  Finally, it was my turn for the picture taking, then back into the waiting line while the license was “manufactured.”  My name was finally called.  I stepped back up to the counter to get my license.  That’s when the disgruntled man reached across me to pick up a pen.  In the process, someone bumped him, and he elbowed me in the face breaking the stem on my glasses.

By the time I got to the tag building I was wet from a sudden downpour.  It was supposed to be sunny today.  My glasses were askew from the elbow to the face and the stem was hanging like the handle on opera glasses.  And, there she was… the Grinch, in person.  But, I tricked her this year.  I had everything required, including a check already made payable to the right entity.  I was in and out in ten minutes.  I was pleased and the Grinch was frowning… couldn’t yell at me this year.  Ha Ha!

As I headed home I remembered that the nice lady with the “OM” necklace had ordered a book for me.  I headed to the library.  What the heck!  You don’t have to be dressed to the nines to get a book. 

I got a parking space right in front of the library door, no meters at this library.  An older man, heavily laden with books and in no great hurry held the door open for me.  My dear lady had my book on the counter.  I checked it out and as I was turning to leave the cutest little Asian boy held up a book about Curious George for me to see.  I smiled at him and told him that I loved Curious George, too.  His mother smiled.

Turning to leave, the little boy tugged on my jacket, “I love the library.  Do you?”

Yes… Yes, I do love the library and perhaps today I was more thankful for it than usual.

I Am Thankful for Activists

Okay, so I’m not ready to go back to the 1960’s, but for me I suppose those were the “good old days.”  Every generation, especially once they have time to look back and reflect, remember a period that comes to be known as the good old days.  I can remember my mother telling me about flappers and prohibition, the Great Depression and the world wars.  She had memories of her “good old days” and some that really weren’t so good.  But, my mother reminisced about good days even in the midst of the Great Depression.  Maybe she was the one who taught me to look for the good in every situation. 

It was Dickens who wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” as the opening to the Tale of Two Cities.  Maybe we are back to that today.  To be sure, it is the worst of times for some of us, but when we look back years from now, perhaps we will recall this period as the best of times.  It’s all about attitude and action.

Today I am particularly thankful for activists.  For too long the term “activist” has conveyed negative connotations.  But, if we think about it, it is the activist who brings about change. 

I guess I was considered an activist years ago when I protested the Viet Nam conflict, eventually leading to an arrest at a sit-in against the use of Napalm in Viet Nam.  Well, I suppose if you are going to be active you need to be aware of the risks.  I figured my first encounter with the inside of a jail cell was well worth it.  I can’t say that it was a pleasant experience, especially the part where I was dragged from the steps by one arm and was scraped from head to toe as my body crossed the concrete sidewalk.  Oh, well.  The war ended and that was good. 

Please don’t get the idea that I am taking credit for ending the war in Viet Nam.  I was one of hundreds of thousands of students who took to the streets.  That’s the thing about activists.  It takes more than one. 

This past week we saw a group of people in Illinois get together to demand owed pay at the Republic Windows and Doors company.  Who would have guessed?  It took some time and a perseverance, but the workers accomplished their goals.

Another group of activists this week got together and gathered food for a Food Bank.  Imagine that!  Activism seems to be alive and well in America.

I suppose my thoughts today are that activists are not always protesters.  Quite often they work for the good of others, in fact, most often.  The idea is that in the worst of times (these economic times) there is the opportunity to create the best of times.  Sometimes it is created within ourselves.  Other times we create the best of times for others.

Activists are what make the world go round.  They are the players who don’t sit on the sidelines and watch the game, but get out onto the field and play.  Sometimes the players get scuffed up, but those are the badges of courage and belief. 

During this holiday season I can only offer the suggestion that there is no better time to be an activist.  Whether you pick the name of an underprivileged child to provide holiday gifts or whether you just do a good deed for someone who is in need, there is no better season to become an activist. 

If you are wondering what you can do, look around your neighborhood, visit a Community Kitchen, or go to www.change.gov and see when the next Obama house party will be held near you… or host one.  There is plenty to do, enough for everyone.  Make this the beginning of activism in your life.  The rewards will be yours.

I Am Thankful for Learning Ways to Save

This morning the ladies of the neighborhood got together for our annual shopping to save comparisons.  Well, of course the fun is to see how much we saved during the year, but it was more fun to see how much we have to invest in the coming year.

Several of us got together a few years ago and decided to form a little investment club.  Our husbands said we had too much time on our hands, but I promise you our days are full!  We decided that investing in the stock market was like gambling for us.  Not the first of us had an inkling about stocks.  Remember, we are in the baby boomer generation and the stock market is a man’s domain.  Well, it used to be.

None of us had any money to invest.  So, we enlisted Maggie’s help to teach us a few tips on saving.  As it turned out each of us had some little technique we used to save.  Some of us use coupons at the grocery market.  Others shop only on “sale” days.  Anyway, we put our techniques together and learned to shop wisely.  In fact, if you are interested Maggie has been writing tips on her blog about saving and shopping wisely.

Well, the total amount that ten of us saved this year was close to $7,000.  That’s not bad.  So, as we start the new year we will have that sum in the kitty to add to our investments.  And, yes we do “play” the stock market.  I must say that we don’t invest with any of the money that isn’t saved from specials throughout the year.  In other words, we aren’t taking income away from our families or putting our life savings at risk. 

It has been a learning opportunity for all of us.  First of all we had to learn to save money so we would have something to invest.  Again, I defer to Maggie on that one.  We learned to grow our vegetables in the summer.  That one goes to Happy.  Well, all our learning lessons came from sharing with one another. 

If I may make a suggestion to my dear readers, I would suggest that you create a community.  It may not be your neighbors, as it is with my little group of friends.  But, create a community.  Everyone has something to contribute and something to teach.  I know I am blessed.  In these tough economic times, our community has stuck together.  We have developed habits and skills over the past several years that have allowed us to face the these tough times with confidence.  And, it is always good to have someone who can lift you up when you can’t lift yourself.

Well, that isn’t where I was going today.  I was going to say that I am thankful for Maggie for teaching us ways to save as consumers, for Happy teaching us to grow most of our vegetables, for the kids teaching us that solar panels aren’t all that expensive and can save us money on our heating and electric bills and for all the others who have contributed to teaching us ways to save and thrive in tough economic times.

Have a great weekend.  And, look for something good in your day.  It’s there.  Just look for it.