The number of days in November dwindle!
I would be remiss to exclude one of the most important thankfuls, which is MUSIC!
It would take me way too long to go into depth about all my favorite artists. But just for fun, I give you a few samples, thanks to youtube.
I used to listen to the slavonic dances when I was 13-14 years old. I remember listening to them on my cd walkman on youth temple trips, like a total nerd.
Dvorak played a major role in my youth. I have no idea why. I listened to the New World Symphony a lot.
I also listened to this piece a lot:
I think God knew how much I loved slavic composers, which is why he sent me to Ukraine. As a child, I had no idea what drew me to their music and art.
Candide has an energy that I enjoy.
I wanted to find a video of one of Gershwins preludes but it is difficult to find a proper one on youtube.
On calmer days I am a fan of Debussy.
Sometimes I am even a fan of Opera. If you don’t like opera, this is the only suggestion I would make to attempt to change your mind. My brother made the subtitles. Start at 1:43 if you are impatient.
SO before I bore you all to death with “classical” music (a genre widely misunderstood) I do have some contemporary favorites.
Coldplay recently released their new album, “Mylo Xyloto” – I have been obsessed with it for the past few weeks. I am slightly obsessed with Coldplay in general.
Another song by Coldplay is one of our ( Micah and I) very favorites. They’re astoundingly good at building to fantastic musical climaxes. In this song, I believe at 2:21 they are using a 7/8 time signature. I do not know of any other “pop” artist doing this in the past decade.
And as I have mentioned several times on this blog, we are huge fans of Paul Simon.
People, I have so so many more favorites. But this
will have to suffice for now. I am so grateful for the companionship music provides me on a daily basis. Hope you enjoyed this little musical journey.
Ya’ll knew it was coming.
A month of things I am grateful for? Well one of those has got to be the fact that somehow, miraculously, I managed to convince someone to live with me for the REST OF HIS BLESSED LIFE.
Marriage is a TALL ORDER. Marriage to me is the most complicated item on the menu. Who would be insane enough to tackle the job!?
….
I figured it was appropriate to give him his proper credit today, the 23rd, as we were married on May 23rd, 2009. (Just 2 1/2 years ago! We are babies!)
Whenever people ask us for our “story” we look at each other, asking ourselves non-verbally, “where to begin?”
It’s kind of a long story.
We say the usual things:
“We met at BYU”
“We were in the same student ward (neighbors)”
“He was my home teacher” (This is true, but I say it as a joke.)
“Internet chatroom” (also a joke…)
But we never really get into the whole “Betsy served a mission for 18 months in Eastern Europe while Micah waited patiently during his first 2 years of medical school in Chicago" part.
Thinking about this, it seems we are gluttons for punishment. “Waiting for someone” on a mission is super risky business. So much can change in 18-24 months. Communication is strained, especially since I was in Ukraine, and mail took 2 weeks to deliver. We could not talk on the phone. We were both extremely focused on our work. It would seem there would be no way to develop and nurture a relationship.
But I served a mission anyway, and we got through it. It was so miserably hard at times. But, at other times, it felt like something we had to do. It was like the saying that goes, “relationships that work out just keep working out.” We had no idea what would happen. So we took it day by day.
People, this is a miracle.
So do I believe in miracles? YES! Am I grateful Micah waited for me? Shoot. Is the sky blue? Maybe. I mean. YES.
Everything I have mentioned that I am grateful for, ties back to him. I could never be grateful enough that he is a part of my life! But I will keep trying, ok?
A picture he sent me during my mission. How could I resist that?!?!?!?
Yes.
Today I am grateful for my mission. It is a part of me. I think about it every day.
I still speak random Ukrainian, which comes out before I even think. As a clue, these are some of the things I say.
“блин” (pronounced bleen) – is short for pancakes in russian, but it is the word they use for “darn”. I say this most.
“що?” (pronounced shcho…the sh and ch sounds squeezed together to create a completely foreign sound) – meaning, “what?”
“не знаю” (Ne znayoo) – “I don’t know”
“давайте” (DavAIte) - “Let’s go”
This is probably at least all the words that Micah understands. Or he might just be ignoring me. Can’t say for sure which one.
I also have an amazing Russian accent on demand. For this I am eternally grateful.
Now for a slew of pictures to delight upon. Ah. Those were the days.
I was a sassy missionary.
SHEESH.
Dear world,
This month is the time for turkeys, cornucopias, and stories of the pilgrims progress, but most importantly gratitude. They say a happy person is a grateful one, so this month I will be blogging one thing I am thankful for, every day, starting, uh, now.
I got the idea from my friend. So naturally, my first thankful post is that I am grateful for her. Sorry, I don’t mean to embarrass, but I’m not really that sorry. For privacy I will call her “Sylvia”.
Sylvia and I were neighbors in Chicago. Then I decided to be a jerk and move across the country. Somehow, Jessica still remained a friend to me (Oops, I meant Sylvia), and darn it if she hasn’t been one of the best ones. If it weren’t for her I don’t really know how I would have gotten through this mess of a move and new baby and all that. So thanks Jess. SYLVIA! Her name is Sylvia.
By the way, if you want a good read, I suggest taking a look at her account of the hospital stay after her son was born. (We also were pregnant at the same time and our children were born exactly two weeks apart – either a really cathartic or really hormonally charged experience, take your pick) Here is the link, you will not be sorry.
Oh and, since I missed November 1st, yesterday I was grateful for… cheese. Yup. Cheese.
