My monthly gratitude list, should it be of interest.

Thirty-one things that make me happy:

1. Hearing, “Hello, Daddy.”
2. That going for a walk in my neighborhood means experiencing the vastness of Lake Victoria, and the calls of countless birds.
3. Playing volleyball with a flat ball.  It’s an added challenge, and results in lots of laughter as the unexpected unfolds.
4. Looking around our home and seeing things that I have had for 10 or 20 years.  Am proud of us for taking such good care of what we have been given.
5. Inside jokes with my kids.
6. My iPod and apps that keep me informed about news around the world, even in my isolation.
7. The number 7.
8. That AidChild’s Olubugo is decorated every night with flower petals newly collected from our yard.
9. How little Derrick (age 2) jumps when I kiss his cheek.  My beard shocks him every time.
10. Forgiveness.  Given and received.
11. Giving and receiving.
12. New friends.
13. Old friends.
14. Working out with my oldest boys.  Used a tension band yesterday, and Kato kept saying, “Please don’t let go.  Please don’t let go.”  It was obvious that if Njuba or I did let go, the band would snap back to him–and pain would result.
15. Driving.  It’s so fun to transition from my tiny VW Golf in the States to my huge Land Cruiser here.  Opposite sides of the road, sitting on opposite sides of the car, and shifting with the other hand.  Also, on the VW transmission, reverse is where 1st is in the Land Cruiser.  I go backwards when I mean to go forwards, and vice versa.  #that’snotdangerous
16. Hashtags.
17. Making a little money go a long way.
18. My little refrigerator.  Lived too long without one.
19. The word “little.”
20. That when I was teasing Kato the other day, I said, “I am assisting you.”  He said, “No, Dad, you are disassisting.”
21. Blogs.  So wonderful to get to read my friends’ thoughts, musings I might never otherwise get to encounter.
22. Musings.
23. Seeing brilliance in others.
24. Planning my keynote address for an event in South Carolina in October while I collect data in Uganda.  #smallworld
25. The hunger I feel at the moment, knowing I fully earned it through a hard workout, and knowing that Chef’s fab coriander chicken is on its way.  Am blessed and privileged to have food.
26. Blessings.
27. Knowing there is so much I don’t know.
28. Learning.
29. Being impressed.
30. Seeing peace through a lens of a stance against evil.
31. Another day.