Thankful, Broken, and a list

I am linking up again this week with Mama Kat for writer's workshop. You can find out more by clicking the box at the bottom of this post. The prompts this week really spoke to me, so I choose three. 

First prompt I choose this week (since it is Thanksgiving day) is: write about something you are thankful for. 

I enlisted the whole family for this one. Asked each person to name something they were thankful for: 

McKayla: "My birds and my family" 

Natalie: "My phone and family" 

Liv: "U"
Sorry, have to share the snapchat screenshot, it was too good! PS If you want to communicate with your teenagers, it is worth a try, plus fun filters and  Bitmojis!  

Stephen: "crock pots, quality time with my doggos and a good book" 

Me: I am thankful for my husband who is amazing (and a great cook!) and  for my girls who are too quickly growing into such amazing young ladies. 

Write about a time you broke a bone.

In my life, I have only broken a bone twice. For as clumsy as I am, this is amazing! 

The first was when I was around 16. At the time I was long distance dating my girls' father. We shared many letters (yes, snail mail letters delivered by the usps, that's how old I am!) Being the very forgetful person I am, I was heading out to the mailbox to put the letter out, well past my "bedtime," so I didn't forget. 

Little did I know, my brother had a plan to scare me as I came back in. He jumped out and yelled (I think... he might have just jumped out) and I got scared and swung out to hit him. I missed him completely, but my fingertips grazed the wall. I was yelling and crying, my brother was laughing and my dad came out of the bedroom MAD. Now, if you know my dad at all, you know he's pretty slow to anger, but when he's mad, everyone knows. He sternly (but quietly) said, "Go. To. Bed. Now." I was crying, said something along the lines of I think I broke my finger. "Your mom will deal with it in the morning." Was his answer. 

So, I went to bed. I'm not sure how well I slept, with my hand sitting on an ice pack. Mom took me to the doctor the next morning and sure enough, I had chipped a piece of my knuckle bone off! I got a splint on my middle finger for several weeks and lots of jokes about what I was doing to break my middle finger. 

The second one happened when I was training for my half marathon. Mornings were really the only time I could run, so I was creeping down the stairs in my workout gear, ready for my run, minus the shoes. Well, I slipped. Carpeted stairs plus socks does not equal traction... 

I know I hit the stairs hard, slid down partway and was stuck there until my husband (again the girls' dad), helped me to the couch where I rested until I had to get dressed for work. 

Details are foggy, but I remember that a coworker urged me to get seen. Perks of working at your doctors office. He sent me down for x-rays, "just in case" but he didn't think anything was broken. We were both surprised when the x-ray showed a "wedge compression fracture" of the t7-8 vertebrae. Another injury that not much can be done for. I remember using the exercise ball to sit on at work for awhile, then I had to do PT to reduce the back pain. I'm 

List 7 things that bring you comfort

1. My dogs. They tend to know when I'm having a hard time and snuggle real close. 
2. My husband. He's such a great hugger! 
3. A good book. Something I can escape into. 
4. Memories of my mom (I love it when people share stories about her) 
5. Warm clothes straight from the dryer. 
6. Snuggling or even getting a hug from one of my girls. 
7. A warm beverage. 

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