Another Time for Thanks

It's that time of year again ... time for thanks. I share some specific things that occurred since last Thanksgiving for which I am aware of being grateful. 

1. My sister-in-law visited and stayed with us and we had a wonderful time.
2. Ellie found significant help for her arthritic pain from a place here in the Twin Cities that specializes in treating arthritis. Read more here.
3. I am able to make a different in the lives of other volunteers working in the Pathways ministry at my parish and they are able to tell me they appreciate it. Mentioned here.
4. Benjamin's and my friend who has brain cancer has seen his cancer stop growing and he has felt quite good all year. We have continued our monthly dinner get-togethers, frequently supplementing them with a walk around a lake or a round of 'mini-golf' at a nearby park.
5. Amazon ( good ol' Amazon ) customer service resolved a mix-up in a 2016 Christmas order and delivered the correct item in time. Written about here.
6. Ellie and I had the internal fortitude to decide against an upgrade to our internet service with a company that we did not feel good about, because we did not feel good about it. More here.
7. There is a political organization that is non-partisan and at work in Washington. I am aware of it and a member.  I had intended to volunteer for it, but that has not yet happened. Read more here.
8. The Republican plan to repeal The Affordable Care Act failed, and I wrote to Senator John McCain, who complained about the process yet voted to let it continue. Here. When the vote( s ) counted, he voted against repeal and I sent thanks to him and the two female senators who stood with him. I wrote about that here.
9. I discovered both that I have a heart problem ( here ) and that I really like "my cardiologist" ( story is here ).
10. I also discovered that my heart problem is a fairly minor problem, which, in my view, if one is going to have a heart problem, is a nice kind to have.
11. A friend of mine pushed me to pursue being a DARTS volunteer ... a reader of stories, once a week, to a small group of grade school children. With a small push from my wife, I agreed and this has turned into much more. Becoming a Reading Buddy. It's not reading but Math.I have a wonderful first day experience.
12. During a segment of an online retreat I attended, I relived, and wrote a poem about, a significant moment of love for my wife. Read it here.
13. As a fallout from being a DARTS volunteer ( 11 above ), the teacher with whom I am working recruited me to be a SPIFF ( Senior Pals in Fun and Friendship ) senior person. I agreed and  am paired up with one of the boys with whom I am working on math. My heart bursts with joy.
14. Ellie and I have finished the learning how to live together again that we began when she moved back home at the end of 2015. We are not the same as we were before she left, but our love is deeper and both of us know and understand that.

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