Drillings, Fillings, And Reasons To Smile: The Week In Thanks

It's been a couple of weeks since the last thankfulness post, and I do feel it. The chance to sit down and semi-actively reflect on the blessings of days past helps push the energy reset button for the upcoming week.

For starters, I'm two teeth lighter these days. Sitting in a dentist's chair for three hours gave me several reasons to be glad:

That dental insurance is giving me this chance to overcome the ill-fated decisions of my youth when one visit as a child discovered nine cavities.

That my dentist of 19 years and his hygienist are very interesting to talk to (or more accurately, listen to); history buffs, easy-going, kind, good story-tellers.

That anesthetic works so well. It's no fun to watch hypodermic needles repeatedly plunged into one's mouth (and then again, mid-operation), but it sure beats the painful sensation of drills vibrating wildly against exposed root nerves. I am a huge fan of science!

We had a baby shower dinner with the basketball coaches last night. It was a reminder of how supportive, considerate and funny of a group this is. I was especially glad that Dena had a fantastic time, her first real chance to interact with the coaches wives in a casual setting.

It was fun to audition to sing the national anthem for the local semi-pro baseball team. I like my chances, and have to point out that although I rarely read the Pantagraph, the article announcing it caught my eye during the two minutes I was glancing through it, for the first time in months. So it was one of those seemingly-divinely-fated experiences. The type which may not in and of itself amount to much, but somehow may introduce me to other people or experiences.

Work had some moments of external crises and tense e-mail conversations, but in the end the storm raged harmlessly by. It made me grateful for the many times I've been through these situations, and the ability to learn to keep calm with faith that things will work out for the best.

I got the chance to provide a job shadow for a friend of a friend, a talented woman aspiring to build an actuarial career. Opportunities like this nurture the teacher in me and prove to be the highlights of my work day. Earlier I received some unexpected praise from management about the satisfaction of the employees that I help supervise. Those small moments of feeling excellent in this job help keep it tolerable, not to mention the consistently outstanding work that continues to roll in from the members of my team. My unit is filled with remarkably humble people, the kind that are easy to support.

This week set a record for most tutoring hours - thirteen in all, which has me well on the way toward the goal of 150 hours for the year. God continues to deliver students to me, as well as the mathematical and teaching ability to help them considerably. It may be the strongest vocational calling I've ever felt.

The Spelling Bee play is moving along far ahead of the director's expectations. They'd be the last to credit themselves, but the staff has done a wonderful job of balancing direction and encouragement to explore things creatively as actors. Not to mention their choice of cast members. I may have to do separate posts just to point out how much of an impression they each make on me. No divas here, just talented, friendly, funny, hard-working, creative people who find something new to add color to the show with each passing day.

I'm glad that sis-in-law Dona is back in the blogosphere after a sabbatical.

I'm glad that Sean and Jennifer Stevens had a healthy baby boy, and for the resulting chance to step in and fill their spot in the church band until they're ready to return.

Dena is excited about a possible change of work schedule, and also to have a new connection to a web site that ought to boost her professional network. She picked up a new client in the process. We have also been enjoying Netflix reruns of Saturday Night Live episode by episode, and still have about twenty years to catch up on! It's like being kids in a candy store. Or for those of us with increasingly artificial teeth, kids in a fruit stand.

The week ahead looks breezy and spring-like. Hopefully it's a breeze for you too.