Perspective.

While outside this morning, Brett discovered THIS:

Our old Taurus is not long for this world. Until we unload it, it's sitting in front of our house, but some idiot felt compelled to stick a pushpin in one of its tires. Now WHY would anyone do that? ARGH. Pure meanness.

That discovery put a damper on our day, as did our garbage disposal later on. What is it about appliances that causes them to break down the night before a holiday? It was 6 p.m. tonight when Brett flipped the switch and heard a hum instead of a grind. We tried a couple of Googled fixes, but we've had no luck so far. We're stuck with a lame-duck disposal until at least Friday. Yippee.

So yeah, in spite of having a holiday, in spite of having some great family time outdoors, in spite of enjoying a productive day around the house, I managed to get pretty pooty over the dumb disposal and one stinkin' pushpin. In fact, I had just slammed the door under the sink closed and thrown the stupid, useless allen wrench across the counter when Ryan walked into the kitchen.

"You know, this Thanksgiving I'm really thankful," he said. "We're so lucky just to have water."

In social studies he's been learning about places where many homes are without our conveniences, so he's particularly aware of our many blessings.

And then there's our precious Katie, who never, ever, ever forgets to pray for Megann's family. This week her prayers have been especially fervent because she knows the holidays will be hard for them.

I'm so thankful for Ryan and Katie's sweet spirits that remind me to take a deep breath, to refocus, and to truly be grateful.