Thankful

Today is Day 2 after a 4-day holiday weekend.  Thanksgiving has become completely bastardized by modern American society, unfortunately.  What started out as a humble feast among settlers and Indians to celebrate a bountiful harvest of enough food to last them through the winter has turned into a free-for-all of gluttony and consumerism.  To be honest, I really don’t know what the first Thanksgiving was really like (I wasn’t there).  My perspective is based on various artists’ renditions that show Pilgrims and Indians sitting together outside at a large table…except the women aren’t sitting – they are cooking and serving, and no doubt they did all the clean up afterwards…just like modern times.

I can't identify the artist who painted this one :(

Anyway, I’m thankful today.

 

#1:  Thankful that yesterday and today were completely rainy, dismal, and gloomy days.  Mondays suck.  Mondays after a 4-day holiday suck even more.  Tuesday after a 4-day holiday feels the same as Monday.  The dreariness coordinates well with my mood.

     

#2:  Thankful that my brand new crockpot was delivered today.  My old one cracked and began leaking after at least 25 years of faithful service.  I thought it best to donate it to the landfill and get a new one before something catches fire.  The new one is bigger – 7 quarts – and is digital (although it’s not wifi-enabled).  That feature was overkill and too pricey, in my opinion.

#3:  Thankful and grateful to whoever nominated me for a teaching excellence award.  Somebody nominated me.  Now I must reply by the end of the week whether or not I accept the nomination, but it’s not so simple just to reply “Hell yes, I accept!”  I must submit evidence that demonstrates my teaching prowess.  Dear God, I barely know what I’m doing and they want evidence from me to prove my brilliance.  To make matters worse, I have to submit it in only a few weeks.  Somehow I doubt my score on RateMyProfessor.com is going to cut it.

 

#4:  Thankful that I got to see all my children over the holiday.  Erin and Emily came home, and Erin and I drove over and visited Sarah at her house.

#5:  Thankful that Sarah and Thomas finally launched their new CD to the world.  It's been a long time coming, and there's nothing I like more than popping in a CD and listening to my sweet daughter sing and make music whenever I miss her.

The time is drawing near for me to talk to my boss about working part time or retiring.  I was going to wait until the middle of the month, but I’ve decided to pop the question this Friday.  We (boss and me) have a meeting scheduled and unless it gets postponed, there will only be the two of us on the call.  He does not have authority to make the decision; it will fall on his boss who doesn’t know me or know anything about what I do.  For that matter, my boss doesn’t know much about what I do.  It’s OK.  If he says no (and I predict he will say no), I will retire in early January.  I’m scheduled to teach 8 classes in January (although one of these will most likely be cancelled for low enrollment).  It’s too much work to do with my real job.  I can be Wonder Woman sometimes, but not for that long.

meeting of the minds?