Scientific Ink

Tag: Gratitude

  • Easy holiday shopping (gratitude # 47)

    I think this was the easiest Christmas shopping season ever. We did a mix of local and online shopping, and I feel in control and not stressed about at least this one thing at this point in the holiday season.

    I threw myself on the mercy of Vicki at Ann Arbor’s funky, fun store Heavenly Metal and she set me up with great gifts for the hard-to-buy-for – my sister-in-law and my stepfather. Plus she showed me something nice and something local to give to a work colleague – al dente pasta from Whitmore Lake, MI.

    A twitter friend, Keith Burtis from MagicWoodworks.com, made my gift for my mother-in-law, and I’ll be knitting my gift for my mother (though I’ll need another trip to the local yarn store and a bit of time to finish it before Christmas!).

    My sister and I decided we would contribute to charity in lieu of purchasing presents for each other, and she helped me choose clothes and toys for her kids.

    We did a little online shopping to round out the list, but I feel that I was able to get some personal and unique presents this year with a minimum of stress.

  • Charity giving – the difference in giving time instead of money (gratitude #46)

    It’s the holidays now, and calls for giving arrive in my mailbox every day from charities to which I contribute and charities I’ve never encountered. My knitting meet-up, the Ann Arbor Stitch n’ Bitch Knitters, is doing a “Knit One, Save One” Hat Drive. We’re knitting hats for low birth weight babies for Save the Children.
    Baby hats

    Sitting down to knit the little cap was just like any knitting project I do. I’ve knit several baby blankets for friend and family’s children, and in each one, it was like I was casting a spell of love and good wishes for the young’un, making a tangible blessing that (I hoped) would wrap the baby in love first and a blanket second. In this case, knitting a tiny hat for a small baby I’d never meet brought the baby to my awareness, and the experience of offering the hat was more intense and lasted longer than the experience of writing a check.

    I did some exploration of the Save the Children site after finishing the two hats, and I have the sense that the baby hats alone won’t do as much as immunizations, nutrition, antibiotics, bed nets, and the like. So why hats? It’s a strategy to get folks involved and aware of the precarious health of these low birthweight babies. You can write your congressperson and/or senators, call on President-Elect Barack Obama to prioritize child survival, or join one of several online Save the Children communities (including Twitter) to become more involved.

  • Fun creative pursuits with family (gratitude #45)

    My in-laws visited, and my mother-in-law and I spent as much time as we could knitting. We compared yarns and brainstormed projects, we exchanged patterns and even traded needles. She had just finished a lacy scarf and lamented that she wanted to put beads on it. I had a crazy beaded mohair, so I borrowed the pattern and started to make it on her bamboo size 13 needles. She had a packet of fun yarns that she was going to turn into a scarf, and she was frustrated with their slipperiness on her aluminum needles, so I swapped her bamboo circular needles.

    I showed her Ravelry.com, the knitting community site to which I belong, so we can continue to share projects and patterns when she’s back home. I missed having her around when I went to the yarn store today to get another skein of the funky mohair to complete the lacy scarf.

    Some things are better shared. Wish she were closer. I’ll have to head on over to my local knitting meetup for more knitting cameraderie.

  • A taste of Detroit: tahini and Vernors (gratitude #44)

    The holidays is a time for family gatherings. We hosted my in-laws this weekend. Originally from Michigan, they love living in Massachusetts. Next weekend, I’m going to visit my sister in Tennessee. Born and raised in Michigan, my sister is happily now a southerner.

    But, I think that no matter how happy they are in their adopted homes, the tastes of home have a powerful pull. On their way out of town, my in-laws stopped to get a case of Vernors into the car. Apparently, they can’t find it in the Boston area. My sister called me this morning and asked me to bring tahini when I visit. The Detroit area has a strong Middle Eastern tradition, and she prefers what is available in Detroit Middle Eastern grocery stores to what is available in local health food stores in Tennessee.

    I’ve already got a stash of goodies to bring her. So, when I travel to Tennessee, I’ll be carrying dried Michigan cherries, Tahini from Lebanon, and ArborTeas Keemun tea from China. The taste of home, at least here in the Detroit area, has a global flavor ;).

  • Job changes, once removed (gratitude #43)

    My husband changed jobs. He wasn’t unhappy at the old one, just the opposite, but he got an opportunity for growth from a former employer and, after a fair bit of reflection, decided to take it. I’m happy for him and proud of him and all that. Really.

    I have also been anxious about it, and worried. Most of it is selfish worry, he’ll be gone more, with regular travel to Chicago and to Prague and to England and even farther afield like China and Korea. And I’m…here, working.

    Kitzbuhel city wallNot that I mind working really, after a few years of angst and searching I’ve found a place where I can stay, where I know my efforts make a difference, and where work on a smart team to do quality work for great clients. No complaints there. And, during my time of bouncing around and soul-searching, my husband was bedrock. Unflappable, confident I’d find my way, not in a rush for me to show results, he supported me without question.

    I suppose now it is my turn to cheerlead and support. And he’s going to be fine, more than fine. So I think it is more me I’m worried about than him. I think I’m feeling a little left behind. He started the new job last Friday, and went on the road immediately (left town Sunday). Today was his birthday and I wrapped and had him pack a small present (not beautifully wrapped, in case TSA wanted a peek) into his luggage for him to open.

    He’s going to have lots of travel, and several adventures, and I will be here, working, hanging with the cat and maybe we’ll Skype more but see each other less. I was really blue about this for a while, and my stress level has been all over the place. But this week, with him gone, has been alright, much better than I’d built it up to be in my head. I’ve been more than busy, attending social events after work and professional society events, so busy that I really really had to take tonight off and collect my head and do nothing because I was a very bent out of shape introvert. I always forget how much I like being alone.

    So, I’m still grateful for time alone despite my worries to the contrary, been chatting with my sister and college friends on the phone a little more, and I’ve had more dinner requests than I can capitalize on during his quick trip. So, there’s hope for friendships, local and distant, to fill in the gaps a little bit as the travel continues. I’m also contemplating what I can open the door to now that I’ll have more time available. Focusing on opportunity not anxiety. Really. Mostly.

  • Writing a letter to my five-year-old nephew (gratitude #42)

    So, my nephew is sad when he doesn’t get mail, and my sister asked if I would write him a letter. I was happy to, as he’s one of my absolute favorite humans, though I was also mildly stumped. What should I write?

    Kite tail

    I decided a letter at all was more important than the perfection of its contents, and I let my editor relax a bit.

    I know he just moved, from the Atlanta suburbs to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and I’m going to visit in early December, so I asked him how his new school was, and what he could see from his bedroom window. I asked him if he was an Atlanta Falcons or a Tennessee Titans fan. I told him how much I was looking forward to seeing him, and I asked if we could go on a walk together when I arrived.

    It was sweet to write him and I am excited to mail my letter tomorrow. My husband will send one in maybe a week.

    I was reminded of myself as a child, how I envied my parents getting their junk mail and bills. I longed to get mail as a sign that I was alive as well. And I was reminded of the letters my grandfather Heinrich wrote me. He used to write me handwritten letters that I was thrilled to receive, and I was touched by his thoughtfulness. My sister mentioned he used to give us stationery. I forgot that part, but I still have the letters he sent me. Maybe it is time to review them and learn how to write a letter to a child you love, so I can pass along that tradition to my nephew.