Firday of Thankfulness

The morning sky swept with cirrus clouds reminds me of smudges on a bright blue blackboard. Wispy messages erased in haste, which in turn reminds me of eagerly raising my hand to be picked to be the one to "clean the erasers" in 3rd and 4th grades. If chosen you had the privilege of taking the two gray felt like rectangles outside and hit them together until no more chalk dust surrounded you. It was such an honor to be picked, you got to go outside while all the other students were still busy at their desks. I went to a 4 room school house for the first 8 grades. 2 grades in each room. It was fun, and you got to know the class ahead of you one year and the class behind you the next. In first grade there were 5 of us, which allowed the teacher to give us a lot of attention. In winter we drank frozen milk in little milk cartons that the milk man delivered and left on the back porch, it froze so fast in the cold New England air. In warm weather we played "kick the can" and "prisoners base" at recess. I never seemed to come home with the hair ribbon I had left with in the morning. This little school is the very place I learned to read and to sing songs of joy and praise. It is the place I learned to memorize scriptures and hear wonderful character building stories. I am forever thankful that my parents made the sacrifice to send me to a Christian school. My father worked a second job to pay for my tuition for all 12 years even though the school was not the same as my parents religion.
I am feeling really good this morning, the pain is nearly gone. I upped my dose of pleurisy root the last few days, and I think the inflammation has run its course. I am thankful for the rest I have had and the time to reflect on the blessings in my life, there are so many of them.
I think of all my friends and how they enrich my life in so many ways, and my family....oh what joy they bring.
I am so thankful for the simplicity of our lives. The ordinary way in which each day unfolds. The steady rhythm of daily chores, and the surety that there is always love enough to cover any hardship that might come along. I am thankful for a life that is not like a soap opera.
Life is good....but I do need to get off this computer and get a good fire going, its cold in the house.
Thank you all for your prayers while I recovered from this very painful pleurisy. And thank you for rejoicing with me in regards to Mei-Lings kidney function.