thankful on a thursday—jump and roll

You know when life starts going too fast and all you can think about is how you want it to slow down. Then you think about slowing down and it's like when I think about what I would do if I were kidnapped, shoved in the back of a car, and facing certain death / danger and try to imagine at what point the car would be going too fast for me to try to jump out of the car and roll onto the shoulder [at which point I would jump up and run into the woods]. I think about that analogy and I think I'm past that max speed. I don't think I can jump out of the car and survive the landing.

Work is crazy. Life is crazy. Running is crazy. I have too much to do [then why are you blogging, Haley?] and it seems like there is never enough time to do the things I want to do and still slow down enough to just REST. I am not a fan of this breakneck pace, and friends, I want out of this car. I keep telling myself it will slow down, and after October 10 it will a little. A lot of anxiety and stress goes away after that day [why do I want to do this marathon again?]. Have I mentioned my hip is bothering me again?

On top of it all, September has begun to turn rainy, and rainy autumn weather [I know it's not technically autumn yet, and I know we barely had a summer] is my favorite. It reminds me how much I love to slow down and rest. I hear the rain out my window and imagine curling up on the couch with coffee, knitting, and a movie and NOTHING sounds more appetizing right now. But I can't. Because I have to be at work early to finish the day's to do list so I can leave work early so I can go for a run before I go to a meeting to discuss the fall teaching series on Ruth for youth group.

Right now it feels like the only thing that could evoke real gratitude would be a broken leg or a case of pneumonia.

1. Waking up to the soft patter of rain outside my window.
2. The quiet, thoughtful, thought provoking music of Thad Cockrell and the person [whose blog I totally creep on and you should too] who introduced me to his music [through aforementioned blog creeping].
3. Knowing that in this world I will have trouble, He has OVERCOME the world.
4. New, square, metal double pointed knitting needles that wait patiently for life to calm down so we can spend hours on the couch with coffee and unfinished socks.
5. Canning tomatoes.
6. Clean, delicious water right from my tap every day.
7. Long drives and the way they lend themselves to good conversation.
8. The chance to pray for others, and how, in that mysterious way I don't think I will ever understand, it underscores my Father's love for me.
9. My high schoolers, watching them discover and experience life.
10. A warm cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
11. Flowers and a card from my boss after a very long week.