52 Blessings: A Coke and a Smile

Wow, I only seem to blog on '52 Blessings' days! It's been a busy two weeks since I last blogged. Been too busy, but in a good way, I suppose.

Today's blessing is also possibly my worst vice! I am thankful for my first sip of Coca-Cola each day (usually morning.) Yes, my daily Coke is a blessing! It helps jump-start my day if I have one in the morning, or revive my flagging energies if I have it in the afternoon. It's a craving that coffee can't fix; I need that sugar rush.



I love Coke so much that I recently taught my Girl Scouts the Coke 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing' song for World Thinking Day! All we were missing were the candles and Coke bottles!

I've been obsessed with Coke since I was a very small child and they came in family-sized glass bottles. I would beg for Coke for breakfast! Drinking it makes me feel happy, just like it did when I was three years old. I travel with my own Coke if I know I won't be able to get to a convenience store anytime soon. Good friends have a six-pack waiting for me in the fridge when I visit.

Although I prefer an actual Coke, I'm not such a cola snob that I won't drink other brands when they're on sale or put in front of me. I recently had a Boylan's Natural Cane Cola with a shot of Black Cherry--not bad at all. But I'll take my high fructose corn syrup-infused Coke any day. It's a blessing to be able to buy and drink a Coke pretty much whenever I want one.

Pic from Coca Cola website; video from YouTube.

52 Blessings: Libraries

Today I'm grateful for the blessing of Libraries, specifically libraries that are freely available to the public. The first time I remember going to a library was when I was a young child in the suburbs of Chicago and there was a bookmobile parked near the grocery store parking lot. It was amazing. I checked out a Barbie chapter book.

My favorite library ever will always be the Carrollton Public Library that was located on Jackson Road and Josey Lane. The library opened the same month our family moved to Carrollton, Texas, in March 1981. It was brand-new and filled with books! Whenever I think of the library, the Carrollton Public Library pops into my head. It's no longer there, relocated to much larger location after we moved away and Carrollton's population exploded along with all the other North Dallas communities. But it lives forever in my memories. For six years, I frequented the library with my Mom and my brother, or browsed by myself for hours, or met my friends there for study groups, or walked there with my high school pals after school to hang out (yeah, geeks do that). Being at the Carrollton Library was like being at home--comfy, cozy and I knew where everything was.

Ever since we decided to proactively trim our family budget in October 2008 in the face of the still-to-get-worse recession, the public library has been a treasure trove of entertainment in all forms of media.

I've successfully resisted the urge (usually) to buy new books since our "money diet" and yet haven't suffered things to read thanks to the San Antonio Public Library! I can browse the stacks, if I have time, but usually I just put books (and CDs and DVDs) on hold and pick them up a few days later. It's like my own personal media concierge service!

A few weeks ago I submitted library purchase suggestions for two non-fiction books that I wanted to read but were not in the library catalog. The library has already ordered both books and I'm first in line to check them out! Cool.

I also love that my kids are getting to know the ins and outs of the library as well. I want them to understand that it's a privilege to have such a great library system available to us. Not every city invests equally in their public library system. Our library is not perfect, of course, but it's ours, paid for with our tax dollars. And more than ever, it's a blessing.

52 Blessings: Health Insurance

While the battle rages on in Washington, DC, over health care reform, I am thanking God and all of my lucky stars that my family has decent health care coverage. By extension, of course, I am thankful that my hubby has a kick-ass job that offers this insurance for him and his dependents!

I've been to two doctors this week, wrapping up my 'Health Care February' that began at the beginning of the month. I've had a double surgery, which should be pretty much covered, minus my deductible. My very nice gynecologist told me that this week's appointment was 'no charge.' My meds (thank God for the meds!) were even reasonably priced thanks to insurance-negotiated rates.

In addition, my Mom and I took Carys to the after-hours minor emergency clinic on Monday night, after three days of earache complaints. No ear infection (hooray!) but the doctor thought it might possibly be strep (boo). An exam and strep test later, Carys was clear and just needed some OTC meds. Her doctor visit, although not to her regular pediatrician, was covered by our insurance as well.

I shudder to think of what my life would be like without health insurance, knowing full well that so many people in this country are not as lucky as I am. This week's blessing is truly one that cannot be taken for granted. If we were to lose our coverage through loss of employment for example, could we afford the outrageous COBRA premiums? I can't think about it! So I will just be extra thankful for what I have at this moment.

52 Blessings: Mom

My Mom and my girls, wearing gifts from Mom!

This week I am really, really thankful for the woman who made my entire existence even possible, my Mom! She rode in days before my double surgery like a Lady in shining armor and took charge of hearth and home. In the past two weeks, she has cooked, ironed, laundered, shopped, chauffeured and run errands for us all, with love of course. We would be quite literally lost without her!

Along with my Dad, my Mom is the most self-less person I know. I try to be like them, but fall far short of their example. They give and give and give of themselves, often with little thought about receiving for themselves.

So while I've been hanging out on my couch this week, I've been blessed with having my Mom here to literally lend me a hand up. And that part of my week has been a blast.

52 Blessings: Life, or Avoiding the Complications

This week I'm back to counting my blessings. As many of you know already, I'm in "recovery" from my double surgery earlier this week. Before the surgery, I signed page after page after page of legal documents informing me of nearly everything and anything that might go wrong during my fairly low-risk procedures. In fact, I had to sign extra papers just minutes before surgery to remind me of what I had already read and signed a few days earlier!

One can either choose to read carefully all of the possible complications or simply skim through them. I went for somewhere in between, and can I just say that the few heart-stopping phrases I did read were enough to scare the you-know-what out of me?! So today, I am really thankful that I am alive and have, as far as I can tell, avoided the really bad possible complications that could have happened earlier this week. Because, as the physicians always preface any conversation about surgery, there are always those "risks." I thank God for being here and whole for yet another day.

52 Blessings: Health

I've come to the conclusion that "good health" is all relative. I found out last week that I'll be having a double surgery in a few weeks' time. Minor, low risk procedures for the most part, but still requiring the necessary pre-op prep, a trip to the hospital and an overnight stay. Today, at my third visit to a doctor in a week, my ob/gyn told me I would likely need additional surgery in the next 5 years or so as well. Then he told me I was "very healthy." I found that last comment amusing and full of irony.

Healthy. Am I? I notice every little ache and pain that I experience. I notice if it's something that comes and goes regularly or if it's something out of the blue. I notice the way I feel when something seems off, not quite right. Moreover, I've been diagnosed with at least four different chronic conditions/syndromes in the past 4 years. Some are managed ok with meds, some are not. The pains, the little twinges, the changes in my body that I can't control are always there in the background. Honestly, I wouldn't have called myself "very" healthy.

But really, am I? I am healthy enough to hop out of bed each morning. I can drive myself in my car wherever I need to go. I can work out (if I choose). I don't have food allergies and can eat anything (although I shouldn't). I can (for now) decorate cakes with intricate detail and designs. My mind is sharp enough to allow me to do (most) of the things I need to do on a daily basis, things that my family and others count on me to do. I can enjoy the little things in life that make it meaningful. I'm alive!

So yes, I am counting my health, even as it is now, as one of my many blessings. One that I have not been thankful enough for. God has surely blessed me with the health I have for a reason. And I am grateful.

52 Blessings: Food

Thursdays will now feature 52 Blessings, every week for 52 weeks! I am borrowing the idea from Tracy Kosofsky's Resistance is Futile blog. Last year she scrapped a '52 Blessings' mini-album highlighting one of her blessings each week. I loved the idea last year, but just didn't have time for it, so this year I'm making time. The blessings won't be in any particular order, not in order of importance for sure as every blessing is important!


My blessing for this week: Food. There are two absolutely full refrigerators in my house right now. How lucky I am to have fresh, healthy and affordable food available to me whenever I want. And to have so many food choices each day. Yesterday I complained to myself that there was so much food in the fridge that I couldn't fit it all in; how fortunate I am to be grumbling about something as wonderful as that.