I’ve had a crappy week with severe back pain, Daniel’s MRI coming back abnormal, and a host of other things. To try and orient myself to a less pissy perspective, I’m doing a list of things for which I am thankful.

–1–
Daniel’s PT eval this morning. The physical therapist from Easter Seals was really positive and complimented Daniel on the things that he *could* do well. She said there’s definitely things to improve but they’ll come in time. She also explained Daniel’s sensory issues to me in a way that I could understand it. We’re scheduled to start with her on Wednesday.

–2–
The helpfulness of the pharmacist at CVS. Wednesday was by FAR the worst for the back pain and after Jon got home, I dragged myself over to CVS and begged for help. The (young) pharmacist was chipper and asked what I had tried. I told her that it wasn’t responding to Tylenol and she politely informed me that Tylenol isn’t for inflammation and that some ibuprofen would help as well as some ice. She was right. She also saved me $$$ by not making me go to the doctor to be told this.

–3–
Cuddles and “Cheerios time” with Daniel in the mornings. We’ve run out of yogurt snacks a few times (they’re like baby crack) and I’ve had a little boy putting the empty bag in my lap and shake it expectantly. I just reach over to the bookcase and grab the Cheerios. Daniel will then climb into my lap and we’ll cuddle, eat Cheerios, and watch “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That” on PBS.

–4–
Purry gingerbread tabbies. Cullen is a sissy tabby with very bold orange markings. When I put Daniel down for a nap, he’ll come on the bed and displace my hips. He’s helpful that way. 🙂

–5–
Silly black kitties. Edda is a longsuffering panther and a good one. She’ll put up with Daniel climbing on my lap while she’s having “Mommy time” and she’ll tolerate him “petting” her to a point. She’s wonderful when I’m still groggy in the mornings and trying to reconcile the double images into one.

–6–
KLOVE radio when I’m driving. I listen to a lot of “Scott and Kelli” because I’m usually on the road during their show. I like KLOVE because they don’t get into politics (unlike the big Christian music station in Montana) and it’s encouraging music without obnoxious Focus on the Family shows. Even when I was a newbie Christian, I liked them because they were mellow about promoting faith (not a “turn-or-burn” thing at all unlike other radio station) and they talk about secular news.

–7–
Daniel “surfing” on the wall tonight. (“Surfing” is taking steps holding onto something while learning to walk.) He braced himself against a wall and managed to walk sideways from the hallway to the kitchen. This is a COOL NEW SKILL and puts him closer to learning to walk.

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)