Day 8: food security
I shoo for groceries at least once a week, often more. And I always, always have a massive variety of choices of healthy, nutritious food for my family. Apart from the civil-war-is-imminent panic just before South Africa's first democratic elections, there has never been reason to think that this would not be the case.
It is not possible to live in South Africa and not know the reality of poverty to the point of starvation. So today I am grateful for a steady supply of food and the means to buy it, and I pray for an obedient heart to always be willing to share what I have with those less fortunate.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
30 days of thanks: day 7
Day 7: the internet
Right now, it is 3am. I can't sleep (ugh), and so I'm sitting up in bed with my iPad and checking the results of the presidential election in a different hemisphere.
I love that.
I am grateful for how the internet brings the world closer together: During my overseas trips earlier this year it was just so easy to keep in touch, not to mention affordable. With so many people choosing to work internationally, including members of my family, the internet enables us to maintain contact. I know what my cousin's children look like now, even though I have not seen them in 4 years, and vice versa. While hurricane Sandy was bearing down on NYC, my brother who lives in Brooklyn sent me a video clip taken from the window of his flat so I could know what was going on.
And of course, as one of my internet friends put it: I love my computer. Some of my best friends live there.
I have been a member of a number of online communities (and one of them will be a future post of thanks) and I am amazed how this Afrikaans girl from South Africa, who grew up in a country full of racism and isolated by sanctions, can now have friends in 10 differenct countries whom I have never even met.
So, to my online friends who read this: today I am grateful that we can know each other's hearts and touch each other's lives, even if we never touch each other's skin.
Right now, it is 3am. I can't sleep (ugh), and so I'm sitting up in bed with my iPad and checking the results of the presidential election in a different hemisphere.
I love that.
I am grateful for how the internet brings the world closer together: During my overseas trips earlier this year it was just so easy to keep in touch, not to mention affordable. With so many people choosing to work internationally, including members of my family, the internet enables us to maintain contact. I know what my cousin's children look like now, even though I have not seen them in 4 years, and vice versa. While hurricane Sandy was bearing down on NYC, my brother who lives in Brooklyn sent me a video clip taken from the window of his flat so I could know what was going on.
And of course, as one of my internet friends put it: I love my computer. Some of my best friends live there.
I have been a member of a number of online communities (and one of them will be a future post of thanks) and I am amazed how this Afrikaans girl from South Africa, who grew up in a country full of racism and isolated by sanctions, can now have friends in 10 differenct countries whom I have never even met.
So, to my online friends who read this: today I am grateful that we can know each other's hearts and touch each other's lives, even if we never touch each other's skin.
Monday, November 5, 2012
30 days of thanks: day 6
Day 6: Sunlight
On the shortest day of the year in Johannesburg (June 22), we have 10.5 hours of daylight. By December 22, it goes to 13.75. The concept of SAD is basically nonexistent here. In winter we do generally drive to work in the dark, but that's only because I leave the house at 06:30; by 8am it is light and it stays light until after 5pm.
On top of that, Johannesburg weather means thunderstorms, but they are generally short lived. We have maybe 10-20 days a year that are fully overcast; on any given day you can probably have sunlight on your skin. Of course it raises the requirements for sunscreen, but that's an easy habit.
I also love the lifestyle that comes with generally sunny days. Swimming and playing outside for the kids, lazy afternoons on the patio, lots of sports.
My youngest enjoying the sun at her sister's birthday party.
Our back garden, a little essy with some of the building materials, but you get the idea.
On the shortest day of the year in Johannesburg (June 22), we have 10.5 hours of daylight. By December 22, it goes to 13.75. The concept of SAD is basically nonexistent here. In winter we do generally drive to work in the dark, but that's only because I leave the house at 06:30; by 8am it is light and it stays light until after 5pm.
On top of that, Johannesburg weather means thunderstorms, but they are generally short lived. We have maybe 10-20 days a year that are fully overcast; on any given day you can probably have sunlight on your skin. Of course it raises the requirements for sunscreen, but that's an easy habit.
I also love the lifestyle that comes with generally sunny days. Swimming and playing outside for the kids, lazy afternoons on the patio, lots of sports.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
30 days of thanks: day 5
Day 5: Books
I am a bibliophile. I cannot imagine a world without books. We own thousands of actual paper books and our Kindle collection is growing.
The pic below is not from my own collection - with the renovation it is mostly in boxes. But we could easily fill bookcases like these:
Books make me happy.
I am a bibliophile. I cannot imagine a world without books. We own thousands of actual paper books and our Kindle collection is growing.
The pic below is not from my own collection - with the renovation it is mostly in boxes. But we could easily fill bookcases like these:
Saturday, November 3, 2012
30 days of thanks: day 4
Day 4: weekends
I love weekends. Don't get me wrong, weekdays are great too. I love my job, so my appreciation for weekends has nothing to do with not having to go to work. Here are the things I love about weekends:
1. Sleeping in (which around here means until 6 instead of 5, but there is hope for when the kids are older, right?)
2. Getting up does not have to equal getting dressed.
3. Shopping without a time deadline
4. Less traffic
5. Spending time with my family
6. Naps!
7. Church on Sundays. It's a struggle with the kids being little, so I rarely get to properly listen to a sermon, but still.
8. Being outside
9. Lazy breakfasts
10. Cooking with my husband (or watching him cook)
11. Getting all the small things done that somehow never happen during the week
12. Loads of social stuff
I think there are 2 themes to my weekend - a busy one, which is about the things that I would otherwise do during the week but don't get to, and a wind-down, relaxed, day-of-rest one.
I love weekends. Don't get me wrong, weekdays are great too. I love my job, so my appreciation for weekends has nothing to do with not having to go to work. Here are the things I love about weekends:
1. Sleeping in (which around here means until 6 instead of 5, but there is hope for when the kids are older, right?)
2. Getting up does not have to equal getting dressed.
3. Shopping without a time deadline
4. Less traffic
5. Spending time with my family
6. Naps!
7. Church on Sundays. It's a struggle with the kids being little, so I rarely get to properly listen to a sermon, but still.
8. Being outside
9. Lazy breakfasts
10. Cooking with my husband (or watching him cook)
11. Getting all the small things done that somehow never happen during the week
12. Loads of social stuff
I think there are 2 themes to my weekend - a busy one, which is about the things that I would otherwise do during the week but don't get to, and a wind-down, relaxed, day-of-rest one.
30 days of thanks: day 3
Day 3: Johannesburg weather
A slightly more light-hearted topic today: I am grateful to live in a city where the weather is this awesome.
Our winters are mild, with temperatures rarely going below freezing. And even then the days are generally sunny, and as long as you're dressed warm (i.e. long sleeves, a jacket and maybe a scarf) kids can play outside. And our summers, well, they're perfect! Perfect days, mild evenings, cool nights. Exhilirating thunderstorms, and not a breath of wind.
Today was Jana's birthday party. It was sunny and fair, not hot or cool. Just perfect. The birthday girl:
Isn't she stunning?
A slightly more light-hearted topic today: I am grateful to live in a city where the weather is this awesome.
Our winters are mild, with temperatures rarely going below freezing. And even then the days are generally sunny, and as long as you're dressed warm (i.e. long sleeves, a jacket and maybe a scarf) kids can play outside. And our summers, well, they're perfect! Perfect days, mild evenings, cool nights. Exhilirating thunderstorms, and not a breath of wind.
Today was Jana's birthday party. It was sunny and fair, not hot or cool. Just perfect. The birthday girl:
Friday, November 2, 2012
30 days of thanks: day 2
Day 2: i am thankful for healthy children
Besides the generic wish of all parents for healthy kids, we have some very specific reminders that this is a blessing.
As some of you know, my husband has a congenital heart defect. He has a pacemaker, so did his dad and so does his brother. In fact, his brother got a pacemaker at 18 months. Throughout both pregnancies we were very aware of the risk that our children could have it. In fact, a technician in dh's cardiologist's office once told him he should not have kids so as to not carry this gene to future generations. (That's a whole other venting post right there, so let's leave the ridiculous notion for a moment).
To date, neither of our girls show any signs of the heart condition, in fact our oldest's paediatrician told us when she was a year old that she is absolutely convinced there is no sign of it, and she would stake her career on it.
In other context, lots of friends struggle with ill kids. From allergies and asthma to as-yet undiagnosed gastro problems that lead to repeated hospital admissions, and one set of friends just learnt that their family's genetic illness was carried through to their youngest. And yet we are blessed with only occasional sniffles and fevers.
What a blessing.v
Besides the generic wish of all parents for healthy kids, we have some very specific reminders that this is a blessing.
As some of you know, my husband has a congenital heart defect. He has a pacemaker, so did his dad and so does his brother. In fact, his brother got a pacemaker at 18 months. Throughout both pregnancies we were very aware of the risk that our children could have it. In fact, a technician in dh's cardiologist's office once told him he should not have kids so as to not carry this gene to future generations. (That's a whole other venting post right there, so let's leave the ridiculous notion for a moment).
To date, neither of our girls show any signs of the heart condition, in fact our oldest's paediatrician told us when she was a year old that she is absolutely convinced there is no sign of it, and she would stake her career on it.
In other context, lots of friends struggle with ill kids. From allergies and asthma to as-yet undiagnosed gastro problems that lead to repeated hospital admissions, and one set of friends just learnt that their family's genetic illness was carried through to their youngest. And yet we are blessed with only occasional sniffles and fevers.
What a blessing.v
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