krs(3)

I am thankful to be up early, before G or A, to enjoy the morning quiet for a little bit. I'm thankful to have rediscovered my morning rituals after having let them slide in the wake of the inauguration, feeling like they were unimportant or meaningless, ill-suited to the times. I'm thankful to have realized that not taking time in the mornings to be quiet and ground my day was throwing off my mood and my ability to cope with an unending stream of bad political news. I'm thankful to have realized that this is what people mean when they say that mental health is important right now.

I'm thankful for earl grey tea. I'm thankful that it is not coffee, which upsets my stomach, but that it still has caffeine. I'm thankful to watch the steam rise out of my mug and out of the kettle while the tea cools. I'm thankful that I'm not in a rush, because I like to let my tea cool down considerably before I drink it. I'm thankful for days when I find that sweet spot of drinking a full cup of tea while it is just in between too hot and too cool. I'm thankful that L (lovingly) teases me for how long I have to let tea cool before I have the first sip.

I'm thankful for my visit to see L last weekend. I'm thankful that, because we are both graduate students, we are more or less content to sit in the same room and do work together. I'm thankful that we did our work but I'm also thankful that we didn't just do our work. I'm thankful for the brewery we went to in the neighborhood where we use to live. I'm thankful that the brewery felt neighborly and not pretentious. I'm thankful for the bookshelves they had on their walls. I'm thankful that we saw two dogs and one tiny baby there. I'm thankful that tiny babies always make me think that someday I'll want a baby of my own. I'm thankful to know that someday is far from now.

I'm thankful for a friend who is closer to having babies than I am, who recently remarked that she is glad not to have any children right now, glad not to have to explain current events to them. I'm thankful that I'm not in this position either, because it's hard enough to explain current events to myself.

- krs (2/8/17). @krsacco
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