30 Days of Thankful: Day 17

Today I am thankful for the gift of home. I had the luxury of spending all day at home until I leave in a few moments for my afternoon class. There have been a few things weighing on my mind lately (nothing earth-shattering, just preoccupations), so I set about righting them last night. First, I went to Confession so that I'd be in a state of grace again; listening as Fr. W talked to me after my confession was very helpful. Then, today, I took it easier than I have taken it recently. I forwent morning Mass because I was exhausted--I think that either the end of the semester is taking a bigger toll on me than I realized or my anemia is still not under control--even though I felt a bit guilty about skipping out. But I reasoned that 1) daily Mass isn't required and 2) I need to take care of myself, so I slept in, just a little. Then I got up and was really productive as far as my end of the semester papers go. As of 1:00, I've finished most of the research for two of my three final papers.

Now I'm sitting in my living room, windows open while the sun shines and the breeze blows, making the palm tree outside my apartment rustle. My house is cool and shady and I just took a loaf of bread out of the oven, so the house has a light yeasty smell. I slept for a while and I'm not rushing to finish preparing for class, so the calm that pervades my surroundings fills my soul too. I'm extraordinarily thankful for this very ordinary day, this time of oasis in the chaos I've been surrounding myself with.