Things have been shifted around at work so that we all have new microscopes and tasks. I've learned three new systems in two days and I've left work every day feeling completed exhausted. It is a week of transition. Things will smooth out again once we all figure out our new routine. Sometime around Thursday I finally felt like I had some control over the day. Next week will be even easier. I'm thankful for the changes and the new challenges. I am thankful that I still enjoy this job (for the most part) and I'm thankful that I made the decision to take the leap and accept this job even though it meant moving away from the people I love. But this forces me to make the effort to see those people I love. Often we take for granted that loved ones are just around the corner or down the street. Moving away really puts that into perspective. Robin and her husband will be visiting this weekend and I could not be more excited to see them. Distance truly does make the heart grow fonder because I've noticed that every time I get a chance to visit or someone gets the chance to come up here, it just means the world. I am so thankful for that time, time that I'm pretty sure I used to take for granted.

What else? J's eldest boy turned 17 yesterday. The realization that this child is no longer a child made me hunch over and need a cane and a shawl. I remember when he used to be so little. I remember taking him into the crooked house at Silver Dollar City and his little body was too small to stay upright. He'd take two steps and fall over. It was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen and we laughed and laughed and laughed. Now he's driving and has a girlfriend. But I'm thankful for that rotten kid.

The ex-landlord replaced my leaky kitchen faucet, something else to be thankful for. I was able to ride the scooter twice this week, though one of those days was pushing it (my face and toes where numb by the time I made it to work). The joy from riding the scooter, in December no less, is something to be truly thankful for. And...I am always thankful for you. Here's to a grand weekend and a very very Thankful Friday.