I am thankful.
I am thankful for a stimulating job, engaging students, graceful colleagues. I am thankful for two beautiful and creative boys and a decent husband. I am thankful for the incredible view from the balcony of my cost-effective rental. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn how to fly an airplane myself and for the opportunity to help others soar personally, professionally, emotionally. But most of all, on this weekend of gratitude, I am thankful for a green, plastic cot that I suddenly remembered as I was dozing off on the sick bed at work yesterday at lunch...
As I lay there in the stiff discomfort of the hard, canvas cot that at least offered me a quiet haven in which to stretch out my legs and close my eyes for an hour, I suddenly remembered another cot that I spent many a blissful hour enjoying: My mother, an avid gardener, camper and general lover of the outdoors had many garden chairs. The one I have in mind was green, and folded up in 3 panals -- it was ideal in that it easily fit in the trunk of our little honda civic, so that we could easily take it with us on our many trips to the "country" (Lake Erie, Turkey Point and various other Provincial Parks in Ontario...)
But this green lawnchair was not only utilitatian, it was also incredibly comfortable. Crafted of various strips of rubbery plastic, the chair gave off the feel of a sturdy hammock of sorts. And towards the top or "head" of the chair was an inflaltable pillow, built right into the contraption, that could be blown up as taught or as soft as the napper desired.
Perhaps the best part of this chair was its ease of use for eight year old children (me, and my long-departed friend, Ian) to modify it for use in backyard fort-building. Due to its handy folding nature, the green chair afforded one the opportunity to create a one-, two- or three-panal structure, as needed for afore-mentioned fort building. Ian and I would vigorously haul lawnchairs out from the garage, and arrange them in some architechtural manner. Last always came the green lawnchair. Over this contraption, we draped towels and blankets, and then we would crawl inside our little fort to enjoy... what? Perhaps the power that comes with having self-designed and constructed something? As we enjoyed our fort, I remember hearing my mother and Omi in the garden, working away on their "heckenrosen" and various other "pflanzen" in the background.
I am thankful for the green chair and for the memories of Ian and my mom and grandma and the garden and the camping trips and the pink and yellow and red roses...
I am thankful.
I am thankful for a stimulating job, engaging students, graceful colleagues. I am thankful for two beautiful and creative boys and a decent husband. I am thankful for the incredible view from the balcony of my cost-effective rental. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn how to fly an airplane myself and for the opportunity to help others soar personally, professionally, emotionally. But most of all, on this weekend of gratitude, I am thankful for a green, plastic cot that I suddenly remembered as I was dozing off on the sick bed at work yesterday at lunch...
As I lay there in the stiff discomfort of the hard, canvas cot that at least offered me a quiet haven in which to stretch out my legs and close my eyes for an hour, I suddenly remembered another cot that I spent many a blissful hour enjoying: My mother, an avid gardener, camper and general lover of the outdoors had many garden chairs. The one I have in mind was green, and folded up in 3 panals -- it was ideal in that it easily fit in the trunk of our little honda civic, so that we could easily take it with us on our many trips to the "country" (Lake Erie, Turkey Point and various other Provincial Parks in Ontario...)
But this green lawnchair was not only utilitatian, it was also incredibly comfortable. Crafted of various strips of rubbery plastic, the chair gave off the feel of a sturdy hammock of sorts. And towards the top or "head" of the chair was an inflaltable pillow, built right into the contraption, that could be blown up as taught or as soft as the napper desired.
Perhaps the best part of this chair was its ease of use for eight year old children (me, and my long-departed friend, Ian) to modify it for use in backyard fort-building. Due to its handy folding nature, the green chair afforded one the opportunity to create a one-, two- or three-panal structure, as needed for afore-mentioned fort building. Ian and I would vigorously haul lawnchairs out from the garage, and arrange them in some architechtural manner. Last always came the green lawnchair. Over this contraption, we draped towels and blankets, and then we would crawl inside our little fort to enjoy... what? Perhaps the power that comes with having self-designed and constructed something? As we enjoyed our fort, I remember hearing my mother and Omi in the garden, working away on their "heckenrosen" and various other "pflanzen" in the background.
I am thankful for the green chair and for the memories of Ian and my mom and grandma and the garden and the camping trips and the pink and yellow and red roses...
I am thankful.
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