By Clare Bonelli
Sometimes thankfulness comes easily — like when someone gives you a box of chocolates or pays for your lunch. Sometimes, you have to look for it. I recently had an exercise in doing just that.
Things to be thankful for: (I do not believe in coincidence)
- that I got up to pee exactly when I did or I wouldn’t have seen the tarantula crossing the floor in the bathroom
- that I do not panic easily
- that the light switch was close by
- that Ruthie, the visiting cat, was there to keep an eye on it
- that, on my way to the kitchen to get tarantula removal tools, I saw the pile of cat barf where Mike would have stepped on it in his bare feet
- that the barf was fairly dry and easy to pick up
- that I found the stuff I needed fairly quickly
- that the tarantula hadn’t moved much — until I went for the sweep thing, when it disappeared
- that Ruthie enjoyed playing with the rug in the hall when she was supposed to be monitoring the tarantula
- that, after I had some yogurt, the tarantula reappeared on the bathroom wall at just the right height for me to trap it
- that it was easy to catch and put outside
- that it wasn’t raining
- that I had “The Book of Joy” to read when I got back in bed to settle down
- that I slept fairly well after that
And then, the next night, that I got up to pee at exactly the right moment to see the wind scorpion in the sink before it disappeared behind the washcloth, where it would have been quite the surprise in the morning.
So much to be thankful for! If nothing else, the breath you just took. Not everyone got to take one.
