Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

funny pictures of cats with captions
more animals
A quick story about my Thanksgiving. I woke up, went to work, ate oatmeal, ate more oatmeal, and grumped about eating oatmeal for Thanksgiving. And then someone brought me a slice of bread that tasted a lot like Samma's almond braid, and I couldn't help but smile. I had Thanksgiving brought to me, even 8,000 miles away.

Please note, this is not encouragement to send fruitcake.

So after work, I went to physical therapy. I was kind of concerned because I've heard people whine about it back home; it's painful, it's hard, blah blah blah. So I go in, pay my $2.50, and was instructed to lay back on a table while they put a hot compress on my knee. Twenty minutes later, the guy checked on me and hooked me up to an electrode machine for another ten minutes. Five minutes under a heating lamp and I was done. I don't know if I got what I paid for, but I was glad not to be in the agony I thought.

Dr. Ticklish (thus named because I giggled the whole ten minutes of the electrodes) gave me a quick lesson on what to do for my knee. Basically I contract the muscle for a count of five five times an hour every hour for the next eight weeks and my muscles magically heal themselves. This is one of those times where I am NOT too lazy to do the workout. If he says it'll work, I'll do it.

So he didn't know the word for "contract." So he looked at me all bug-eyed and grabbed my hand, putting it on his forearm so he could show me. If only the electrodes had still been on so I'd had a reason for giggling again.

Right now I am sitting awkwardly in my apartment while someone else cleans my dishes, laundry, and bathroom after 16 days of total neglect. Cleaning day is a lot more fun when it doesn't feel like your participation should be required. She wasn't big on my idea of throwing out the remaining brown bananas. But I don't like brown bananas. Fortunately, I've been too lazy to find clean clothes, so I only have five dirty shirts, so not feeling too badly on the clothes front. The dishes, though. Hehehe. This is where God pats my mom on the head and says, "Don't worry. She actually WANTS six kids just like her." (Six because "John and Kate Plus Eight" has already been done.)

So the kid I named sort of after Aaden from John and Kate is retarded. He has been in my class for 2 months, now, and still doesn't learn words in a 40-minute period. I point to my eye and ask, "What is it?" in English and Korean, and the blank gaze I get is so FRUSTRATING! So of course it's more rewarding to ask the other three, who are basically yelling the answer anyway, but he is my challenge. He is the one who can't count to ten, pronounce table ("chable?"), nor remember the difference between orange and apple. Okay maybe there was no point there, other than mindless whining, so let me end saying, I am thankful for the other three.

When life's got you down, it really is important to keep perspective. It turns out "keeping perspective" includes "looking at the 99.9999999% of the world that is WORSE off than you." And so, in honor of Thanksgiving, here is a little perspective.
1) I have a shorter cast. Could be stuck in the semi-truckesque green monster.
2) I still have my leg.
3) I will not actually die of a broken leg.
4) I am in another country. That isn't on the continent of Africa.
5) I am learning another language. (love!) (not the language of love, I just.. love languages)
6) I have a cleaning lady. (insert: neener neener neener) (appropriate mom retort: I have a cleaning husband, neener neener neener.)
*A quick glance up and my first thought at the sight of her cleaning the door jam, "oh, I never would have cleaned that."
7) My spell check now includes neener.
8) I do have the internet.
9) My friends here may not love me, but Sara Fladmo's only an hour away. And she still does.
10) People consistently return to my blog, making me a bit of that author I've always wanted to be.
11) I have more money in the bank than I ever thought I would (despite proclamations of being a millionaire by 30).
12) My cast has yet to itch. Everything I can remember since I was a teeny little girl (reading the Kid Babysitter series) about casts is that they itch. Well, mine doesn't. So take that, world.
13) At the end of the day, after all the freaking out I do, I still sleep the peaceful sleep of someone who knows everything WILL work out.

And now I leave this list, having completed item number thirteen, tempting fate. Happy Thanksgiving, mom, dad, Molly, Tracy & family, Gammy, Samma, BopBop, Wiggy, Angus, Rira, Pam, Rick, Ashley, Gharret (haha I still don't know, 4 years of college later), James, Amber, Tamara, Miss Chris, Sue, Dan, Mel, Ashleigh (thanks for the turkey!), Sara, and thanks.

5 comments:

Julie Southern (Studio Sherwood) said...

Happy...day after Thanksgiving to you :) Love you!

Tracy Paige said...

Happy Thanksgiving Flame. I miss you. Wish I could have sent you a turkey with all the trimmings. We'll just have to make up for it once you are back in the states. After our Missoula rampage of course and we are out of jail. Love you and pass my warm wishes on to your family when you get the chance!
Tracy

Miss Chris said...

I want neener in my spell check too!



There!! It is now! Happy Thanksgiving and here is to taking time to appreciate all that we are truly blessed with.

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving - 2 days ago. :) So glad to hear PT went well, and that you've got a shorter cast. Yay!

misha ryan said...

you're so funny Kate! I'm loving reading every entry of your blog ; )