Thankful now and always 1520-1719

1. I am thankful for all my friends and all of SJ's friends. 
2. For A who set up for the surprise party. 
3. For M and M who where there on time and helped. 
4. For T and B who came. 
5. For their help in the kitchen. 
6. And icing the cake
7. And washing dishes. 
8. For K and L and that they were able to come. 
9. For K and M
10. And the ice cream they brought. 
11. And playing games with everyone. 
12. That G and little J were able to come. 
13. Spanish time. 
14. That D could come. 
15. It was good to see her again after so long. 
16. That I could make a key. 
17. I am thankful I can trust my neighbours. 
18. That the surprise was a surprise. 
19. People at church who sang happy birthday. 
20. Open and accepting congregation. 
21. I am thankful for opportunities I have to speak openly and honestly about my experiences with church because I am trying to sort through them. 
22. Sushi 
23. Sushi places with free pocky 
24. And good customer service. 
25. And being there with A and A. 
26. And singing kids songs. 
27. SJ's smile
28. Her laughter. 
29. Her playfulness. 
30. Being able to help our neighbours. 
31. Learning to be okay with questions. 
32. Money from subbing. 
33. Snow. 
34. Happy students. 
35. A seat on the full bus. 
36. A car that drives. 
37. My mom's acceptance of SJ. 
38. The way SJ encourages me to be open. 
39. I am thankful for naps. 
40. For teacher resources. 
41. For ideas for teaching vocabulary. 
42. For a desire to practice Spanish vocabulary. 
43. SJ's mom's acceptance of me. 
44. Some days are better than other days. I am thankful for the better days. They give hope. 
45. I am thankful for the more difficult days which help us appreciate the good days. 
46. Yoga at night. 
47. And in the morning. 
48. Having free counselling. 
49. Forty as a symbolic number in the Bible.
50. 3, 4, 7 and 12 as other biblically symbolic numbers. 
51. The luxury to intellectualize faith. 
52. The challenge to make faith part of my daily reality. 
53. Involvement in our families. 
54. Talk with P. 
55. His lived experience with community and faith. 
56. The family's willingness to hire me as a tutor. 
57. Three cute and adorable children. 
58. Curious George.  
59. Monkey books. 
60. Creative ways for teaching. 
61. The internet.
62. Online resources. 
63. That we got our wedding cake safe. 
64. Indoor plumbing. 
65. Heated houses. 
66. Heated workplace. 
67. Extra hours for work. 
68. Almost home!
69. I am thankful for thanksgiving. 
70. And excuses to see my family
71. And same travels to the mountains
72. The big sister mountain
73. Hiking up it with my dad, even if it too two attempts. 
74. The middle sister mountain. 
75. Hiking up it with my sisters. 
76. The way they encouraged me to continue. 
77. That I made it to the top, even though I was tired. 
78. For the little sister mountain. 
79. Hiking up it with T and my sister. 
80. Making it the second time. 
81. Chances to climb with ropes 
82. And to belay myself down. 
83. The three sister mountains and me and my two sisters. 
84. Always feeling a special connection with those mountains. 
85. Playing Spanglish boggle.
86. Grotto mountain. 
87. That I got to hike up it with B. 
88. Thankful I got to see it today covered with snow. 
89. My. Lady McDonald. 
90. The way it works as a compass for me. 
91. That I can always see the A in it. 
92. BAM. 
93. Ha Ling Peak. 
94. Attempts of society to respect all people. 
95. The many times I have hiked up there. 
96. Hiking up with M. 
97. Hiking up with my family. 
98. And with youth kids. 
99. And K. 
100. And camp people. 
101. And C and J when it was late and we were locked out of the condo. 
102. The amazing stars we saw. 
103. The reflection of the stars in the water. 
104. The flashlight 
105. Electric lighting. 
106. My. Lawerence Grassi
107. Hiking up there with E. 
108. making it to the top. 
109. Ship's Prow. 
110. My first attempt with SJ. 
111. Falling in love with her there. 
112. All those happy feelings. 
113. We got lost. 
114. She was determined. 
115. She hiked straight up hill with me. 
116. That neither of us are straight. 
117. My second attempt with M
118. Successfully finding the way up. 
119. Making it to the top. 
120. Mt. Rundle. 
121. Hiking up EEOR and my first solo hike. 
122. Sliding down in the snow. 
123. Hiking up there with my mom and sister. 
124. And hiking up there with SJ. 
125. And Cascade Mountain. 
126. Every time I get to see it. 
127. How beautiful it is. 
128. Cascade ponds
129. Cascade falls. 
130. Climbing up by the falls with my dad as a kid. 
131. Making my goal of hiking to the top of Cascade with my friend C. 
132. Experiencing it together. 
133. Being able to encourage her. 
134. The mountain goat who was also near the summit. 
135. Safety in all my hiking adventures. 
136. Pigeon mountain. 
137. Solo hiking up pigeon mountain....  was that my first solo hike?
138. Having a conversation with God as I ran down, trying to get down before dark. 
139. How the view from the top was remarkable. 
140. It looked like gold.
141. Singing as I ran down. 
142. Having a car to drive me there. 
143. Hiking up pigeon mountain a second time with my friend C. 
144. Being able to make it again to the top. 
145. That SJ takes lots of pictures of lots of mountains. 
146. For Grassi Lakes. 
147. That it is fairly accessible. 
148. Being able to go up there with SJ on our first trip to the mountains. 
149. Beautifully coloured water. 
150. The feeling I had when I was there with her, that we are so small. 
151. Other times I have hiked up Grassi. 
152. When I went there with G. 
153. The times I have been there with my family. 
154. I am thankful for the ink pots. 
155. And the sunrise this morning. 
156. I am thankful for beautiful nature. 
157. For texting my friend K. 
158. Her thoughts and perspectives on life. 
159. Her strong faith in God. 
160. People who can have a faith in God.
161. Gay people. 
162. Gay people who are okay with being gay. 
163. Library books. 
164. Thankful that SJ understands when I am tired. 
165. Thankful for our new mattress. 
166. IKEA. 
167. Balloons 
168. Licorice. 
169. The many many books at the library. 
170. Spanish books. 
171. Learning Spanish little by little. 
172. My friend A and how she encourages Spanish learning. 
173. Thankful for interesting dreams. 
174. For my job teaching English. 
175. For all I have learned about the English language. 
176. Silly English rules. 
177. Silly English words. 
178. The craziness of English. 
179. My toes
180. SJ's toes. 
181. My nose. 
182. SJ's nose
183. My big feet. 
184. SJ's beautiful feet. 
185. My joints. 
186. SJ's healing ankle. It is improving every day. 
187. The physiotherapist. 
188. Cheese. 
189. Blankets. 
190. My eyes. 
191. SJ's brown eyes. 
192. All of my body. 
193. All of SJ's body. 
194. When our bodies are close. 
195. Lots of chances to go swimming recently. 
196. Hot tubs. 
197. Yummy food. 
198. Carrots. 
199. Grapes. 
200. Food from Lebanon that was shared with me yesterday.