Thankfulness

Have I gone on and on enough about how happy I am to be in Austin??? I'll speak for myself because Emory is happy anywhere, and decisions about feelings take Brent much longer. But I am elated. For one, the people are so nice. Even the guy that inspects your car for the sticker couldn't be friendlier. Texans really seem to think that other people are good (despite the fact that all of the Dateline psycho wife killer reports seem to come from Texas). People here want to know how your day is going, and they want to talk about it for at least 5 minutes. Not to say that North Carolina, New York, or Colorado weren't nice, they just weren't as excited to interact.

Of course, this characterization of Texans is thrown out the window when you're on a highway. The sweet, mini-van mom next door may throw the finger out the window on Mopac if you change lanes before she's had a chance to zoom around you. Texans seem to have two distinct personalities: Friendly Conversationalist and ANGRY, Narcissistic Driver. I'm sure my crazy driver personality will return soon out of sheer necessity.


Running on Easter Sunday

Hiking (mostly with eyes open)

Patioing

I'm reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp with a neighborhood book group, and that has encouraged me to be thankful for all the blessings God has given me. Austin seems to make that easy as Emory and I go for a hike, play with new friends, get a glimpse of the rolling green hills, and have great Mexican food on a patio with other mommies while I sip on a yummy margarita on a Thursday at noon (that's an exception to my usual stay-at-home-mom drinking policy, but exceptions are so fun).