Thursday's Thrills

So, I'm going to confess... That sometimes life is hard. And you know what? Hard things stink. That's really all there is to it.

So, in honor of looking on the bright side, here are some thrills for my Thursday.

1. This is my last day ever of working until 5:30 -- or even 5:00. At least at this job. My schedule changes next week. And while I am still less-than-thrilled that I don't get Friday afternoons off anymore, I am glad to say good-bye to staying until 5:30 because I have to make up time for going to class. See, in the summer, neither of my classes fall during work hours. So, I don't have to make up that time anymore! Hooray!
2. This is my next to last day of having to be at work at 7. Okay, so it really doesn't matter that I don't ever technically make it in at 7 anymore -- haven't for some time now. I won't be scheduled to be here until 7:30 anymore after tomorrow.
3. I finished my blogging paper and turned it in! That means I am 100% officially done with this semester! Woohoo!
4. I talked to my mom last night and she said my grandpa was having a good day! I hope that that is true today as well.
5. I am now the proud owner and possessor of Trivial Pursuit 80s Edition -- now to find someone who likes 80s trivia as much as I do... And who doesn't mind losing.
6. Free pizza lunch! I know, it's weird -- this was on my last list of things that make me smile for the day... But it's true, yet again. Since I worked some overtime hours for the library's 24/7 schedule during "dead week" and finals, I get to participate in the "debriefing" that includes a free pizza lunch. (And, if anyone's keeping track, that is 2 free lunches for me this week!)
7. 89 days until I go to Panama! Yay! Which means only 86 until I quit my job. Wow, that went fast! Last time I did a count, it was 114!
8. I have such wonderful friends. Yes, I know that I put this in my list and on my blog often. But it is so true. Not a day goes by that I am not blessed by my friends in some way. I know that my friends are blessings from my Heavenly Father. And I am thankful that they allow themselves to be instruments in His hands. They bless my life daily, whether by bringing me macaroni and cheese when she feels my lunch is less-than-stellar and telling me it's because I'm "like one of hers (meaning children)," or whether it's shooting emails back and forth throughout the day to make me smile, or whether it's a friend who says the right thing to buoy me up when I need it... Each day is filled with evidence of Heavenly Father's love for me, and often that evidence comes through my friends. I am blessed. [And maybe I'll even get a comment or 2 on my blog, since that makes me smile :) -- okay, so that was a shameless plug for blog comments :)].
9. Hope. It's a magnificent thing, isn't it? Hope is the epitome of faith sometimes, I think. So, I choose to hope. Because I know everything will be okay. I know what I'm doing and I know where I'm going. I know I'm being led, and that, if I but choose to follow, I will be blessed and I will be happy. So, I choose to follow and hope. And it will all be okay. There is no need for me to "worry over situations that I know will be alright." (Now to apply that knowledge :)).
10. Love. This, too, is a magnificent thing. I cherish that I was brought up in a family that taught me unconditional love. I cherish that I have the capacity to love that way. I think it brings a depth and understanding that can come through no other means. I think that I will understand it even more fully when I have my own children one day. But, I think I have a taste of it now. I cherish that I am loved immensely, because I know that I am. And I am thankful that it is because of that love that I am able to be who I am and fix my mistakes and look with hope toward the future.

Oh yeah, and tell me Nada Surf doesn't have a statement that is very profound in one of their songs... : "Maybe this weight was a gift; like I had to see what I could lift."

Because we really won't know, will we, if we aren't forced to lift something heavy.

I do believe that will be my quote of the day.