Thankful Notes

The following are a bunch of Thankful Notes (some tongue-in-cheek) recently shared on a social media platform. Enjoy…and be thankful.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful to all the fast-food restaurants who have increased their prices so much it has made me want to knuckle down and learn some new home recipes.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for the roller coaster weather this year for it has provided a surprise gift to be unwrapped every morning and a challenge in deciding what to wear (shorts and t-shirts or flannels and jackets).

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for clutter (aka horizontal filing) for how else would I recognize disorganization and the need for a new shredder.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for magnets for they remind me of “things” (people, places, ideas, media, food…) that are attractive and repulsive.

Thankful notes: I am thankful for online shopping for how else would instant gratification be fulfilled.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for disinformation; it has made me realize how precious truth, integrity, and honesty are.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for complete sentences for they install a sense of

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for grandkids for during periods of intense adultitis they remind me to take time to play.

Thankful Notes: I’m thankful for criticism for even though I am perfect, it is interesting to see those who do not come to the same obvious conclusion. 🙂

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for fast-food drive-through lanes that do not provide a means of escape; they remind me that some decisions cannot be changed.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for dogs; what other creature will greet you so energetically and not hold grudges.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for cats; they show us not all of life should be so busy that we don’t make time for a nap (or the rips).

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for wonder; it helps buoy my curiosity and keeps me hopeful.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for our Veterans who take on the seemingly impossible job of keeping our country and world safe.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for the piles and piles of leaves that are the result of the Autumn season of the year; they remind me of youthful fun and games playing in the leaf piles (not so much the raking of leaves though 😉 ).

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for music; it is a time machine that can transport me to another time and place, or ease the burdens of the moment.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for endless hours of television where I can vicariously live life through the real and imagined scenes.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for social media which allows me to re-discover old friends and places and keep up to date with family & friends (I won’t talk about the negative sides of it…yet ☹ ).

Thankful Notes: I am thankful to genealogy research for the ability to learn the history of our family and the connections we share with others.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for sites such as 365 Grateful, Escape Adulthood and Good News Network for they are curatives against the gloom, despair, and doom portrayed by news and social media.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for memories; they provide lessons, guidance, and a bit of nostalgia for the present.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for the kindness of strangers; it reminds me of the good in the world and provides a moment of surprise.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for grass and pollen; how else would I know that my nose is working?

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for slow walks; they give me time to appreciate what is around me.

Thankful Notes: I am thankful for snow; well… because I am retired and don’t have to sludge through it and can focus on child-like playing in it…

Teaching Children Manners while Driving (20230918)

Have you ever questioned what we as car drivers are teaching children (and other drivers)?

Let’s see…here’s a few things we want the next generation to learn:

  • Honesty
  • Trust
  • Integrity
  • Respect
  • Working Well With Others
  • Time Management
  • Safety
  • Obey Laws
  • Thoughtfulness (aka Kindness aka Compassion)

Now let’s look at how these are “taught” on the highways and byways of our road system.

  • Yellow Light Changing to Red – lesson: if you speed up you can make the light (impatience is a virtue). Better: if you left earlier, you would not need to feel the craving to make the light (Time Management, Trust, Respect).
  • Driving at the Speed of Light – lesson: it’s okay to drive 15-25 miles per hour over the posted speed limits. Better: slow down and drive at a safer speed (Safety, Obey laws, Honesty)
  • Tailing Others – lesson: other people should get out of my way after all I am entitled to drive faster than others. Better: back off and teach the kids it takes a good 2-4 seconds to stop if the person in front of you slams on the brakes for some reason (Safety, Respect, Trust)
  • Emotion Management – lesson: if the other person is driving in a way that is not in conformance to how you think, it’s okay to tail them, blow the horn, shake your fist (or finger) at them, stare angrily at them as you go around. Better: take a deep breath and perhaps next time leave earlier (or later) to avoid traffic snarls and the temptation to think you are entitled to drive any way you want (Respect, Working Well With Others, Trust, Safety).
  • Sound Effects – lesson: everybody should put up with your music likes and dislikes, after all it’s a public road. Better: keep the volume down to respect the space others occupy around you (Respect, Thoughtfulness, Compassion)
  • Street Signs –  lesson: every street sign can be interpreted differently (i.e., Stop may mean Yield and Yield might mean Stop, and Merging means do it at the last possible second…nearly causing an accident). Better: Yield means Yield, Stop means Stop, Merge means begin merging (Trust).

I am sure you can come up with more “manners” we teach while driving. Remember, we are always examples to everyone around us. And…if you read through the signals we send to our kids who ride in the cars…it is chilling to think they will drive like the “lessons” we unconsciously teach them while behind the steering wheel (Be disrespectful and drive as you wish, as fast as you want, as close to others as you feel necessary, as thoughtless as you can, and with lots of anger while enthusiastically sharing your music at volumes that would deafen anyone and interpreting the laws as merely guides on the road).

Eek.