11/25/15
i'm thankful for the new frost on the grass. i'm thankful for the temperature causing my breath to condense into a cloud of vapor as i exhale.
i'm thankful for the gas station attendant, who told us that if an attendant is present, compressed air is free at kroger. i'm thankful that we were able to pump up sid's tires without having to scramble for change like we usually do. i'm thankful that a passing motorist stopped to tell us that we could get free air at a nearby gas station and i'm thankful that we were able to tell him that the air was free here too.
i'm thankful that when we stopped at the dentist to get a new tube of prescription toothpaste, we did not have dentist's appointments we had to go to. i'm glad the sounds of drilling and sucking and spraying that wafted out of the back were not meant for me.
i'm thankful for [redacted]. i'm thankful that perhaps my favorite blogger, the tipsy baker, is back with a new post about her daughter being home from college for thanksgiving. i'm thankful that she is having such a happy holiday, even if the writing that made me love her is about unhappiness and shattering the illusions of domestic bliss so common to the food blog scene. i'm thankful for the concept of waffle cupcakes.
i'm thankful that even though my bike tires were too flat and my iphone battery died and the trail was muddy, i went on and enjoyed a bike ride yesterday. i'm thankful for the moment, after my iphone died and so i couldn't listen to a podcast and was forced to be alone with my thoughts, when my sad feelings about not getting the job were dredged up off the ocean floor of my brain. i'm thankful for the moment after that, when, trying to be present in the moment instead of focusing on those feelings, i looked up at the arch of leafless trees above me and the sun broke through the clouds, warming me up. i'm thankful for the moment after that, when i looked into my rear-view mirror and its image was a tiny icon painting of the wonder of the sunny trail.
i'm thankful that i tried again to make the mapo tofu and was much more successful this time. i'm thankful that the new recipe helped me avoid the salty jarred sauces in favor of deeper flavors. i'm thankful that though it wasn't as good as what we had in the restaurant in california, it carried its echo, and i'm thankful that it wasn't too salty or too numbing. i'm thankful that we have leftovers to eat tonight.