Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks

I'm thinking today about the things I am thankful for.

Every year when the whole extended family got together for Thanksgiving, my

Grandmother would ask each of us to go around the table and tell what we were 

thankful for before we ate our dinner.

To be honest we all hated this tradition.

One year as each took their turn and stated they were thankful for the love of their family, 

their job, their friends, their homes...etc....it came to my Uncle Scotty.

He said, "I'm thankful that things are not any worse."

And we all laughed. 

To be honest that is how I feel this year for real. I've been thinking that I'm thankful that

things are ok at the moment. 

This has been a tough year. It started out just fine (actually pretty great) but quickly went south.

But there are many things I am thankful for -

I'm very thankful for all of my blogging friends that pulled me through a rough time

in late summer. Your friendship and anti-depressants (ha!) have gotten me through.

I'm thankful that my sister is improving. 

She's lost like 70lbs! Can you believe it?

I'm always thankful that I have my great Mom.

I'm thankful I go to my friend Shannon's tomorrow to have 

Thanksgiving Dinner with friends and family.

I'm thankful that I found some part time jobs to help me out financially.

I ended up with only two...it was going to be impossible to manage four.

So I now work part time at Pier One and part time at Target.

Working at Target as a cashier has been an eye opening experience.

I have to say everyone that works there is super nice.

Kind to each other. The customers have been super friendly and forgiven me my inexperience.

I'm thankful my cousin and best friend  - Shelly is still here. Although, she is most likely spending 

this Thanksgiving in the hospital. She had to go there today....with a 104 temperature.

I will visit her tomorrow.

I love her so much...

Today something happened that made me realize how lonely I will be without her.

Well, I already knew this....but this made me feel how it will be without her.

This is the most absurd story and as it was happening...I thought....I can't believe this...

Wait till I tell Shelly!

But when I went to call her after work...I found out she was very sick and in the hospital.

I cried...thinking what will I do when she is not here any more and I don't have

her to tell all my stuff to?

I spoke to her husband and asked him to have her call me when she woke up and felt like talking.

I just got off the phone with her. Yes....she laughed at my story. 

And then we cried together

about how we are going to miss each other so after she is gone.

We have always had each other. She is six months older than me...so we have always been in 

each other's lives. I don't know what I will do when I can't call Shelly and tell her 

about my day. The plan was that we'd be old ladies together.

But I am thankful that I have her for now...

So, I'll share here my story of what happened.

Be prepared to be amazed...

Perhaps to be disgusted...

But I guarantee you will NOT be jealous...

So, today at Target, I was working as a relief cashier covering breaks and lunches for all of those working 

at the registers. I'd just come back from lunch and had gone up to the cashier manager (this is not what 

they are called...they have some kind of name that is initials like DSM or GML or DVD...I can't remember. 

So I'm standing there waiting for the manager to tell me which lane to go 

to so that I could provide them a break. 

I know this sounds boring...but it gets better.....

So just as she says...."Why don't you relieve Tayna on Lane 11?" and points me in that direction...

A fly comes buzzing in.... straight towards my face...in a second it comes straight at me 

and disappears and I swear I was pretty sure it had flown straight up my right nostril!

This happened in a split second while the Manager was talking and pointing. 

At first I thought...did that just happen? 

Couldn't be...he must have flown past but it sure feels like he flew up there.

I am thinking this as I walk to lane 11 to relieve the cashier.

Well, of course I wanted to immediately go to the bathroom to check out the situation.

But I'd just gotten back from break and this was my second day there and I couldn't very 

well scream out - "There's a fly up my nose! There's a fly up my nose!"

So I kept telling myself it couldn't be but yet...my nose did not feel right.

And there were customers lined up down the aisle waiting for me to ring them up.

I couldn't blow my nose! I didn't have a tissue. 

My nose was tickling and felt strange and I was resisting the urge to sniff.

The last thing I wanted to do was suck the thing further up into my nasal cavity!

So I'm still ringing people up and then....it starts to buzz. I guess it had been stunned

at first. So now I feel this thing moving and buzzing in my nostril and 

my greatest fear was that it was either going to crawl out my nose while a customer 

talked to me or just coming flying out!

I know....I know....

This was humiliating! Here I am trying to have as much dignity and class as I work at a job

that I never thought in a million years I would be doing and I'm trying to just live in the moment

and be friendly and happy and trust that things will improve in my life and 

BAM! A damn fly goes straight up my nose!

So the thing is really moving around now. I press the side of my nose hoping to kill it.

I guess I thought a dead fly up my nose was preferable to a live one!

How quickly ones perspective can change.

 Finally, I turn my head away from customers 

for a second and I had to pick my nose in public!

I had to! I had no other choice!

Luckily is was moving out as I stuck my fingernail in so it took just moment.

I was so relieved when the thing walked out on to my fingernail.

I flicked it to the ground and prayed no one noticed.

Yep! This is what my life has become. 

And I was so relieved and happy to have that thing out of there.

I was almost giddy!

Then driving home tonight I thought...what if it laid eggs!

Can you believe this happened?

I haven't felt right since. 

I came home and blew my nose and stuck a cotton swab soaked in alcohol up it.

That really stings by the way.

My nose still feels weird. 

I don't think I will ever forget that feeling.

I'm sure I'll be ok.

This sort of thing must happen to cows all the time and you never hear of them having problems.

So let's see, I guess I am also thankful that at least it wasn't a wasp or bee!

I hope you have a very pleasant Thanksgiving free of insects.