one THING i am THANKFUL for

It was a few months ago.  I was out grabbing a bite to eat with my daughter, brother and sister-in-law.  My husband was at work, doing his usual late night shift.  I had gotten used to him being gone during the evening, and missed having him around when I went out to do fun things with friends or family.  However, this night, I was more missing his help with our cute, energetic daughter.

My daughter is definitely a home body.  She loves to be at home, in her PJs, playing with her toys or watching her favorite shows.  It's stunning how she turns into a different person when we go out in public.  She gets really cranky and whines to go home constantly.  Her behavior makes doing anything outside of the home exhausting.

On this particular night, I gave my daughter my iPod in hopes of calming her down while we ate dinner.  I had given her my iPod plenty of times before and it usually worked.  Nope.  Not this time!  Instead of scrolling through her favorite apps, she threw the iPod onto the hard, tile floor, shattering the face instantly.

My brother just looked at me in shock.  We love all things Apple in our family, and when one of them gets ruined it's a sad, sad day.

I managed to keep my composure.  I put the iPod in the diaper bag, told my daughter that I loved her, gave her a hug and went on enjoying my dinner.

A few days later, I scheduled an appointment with someone at the Apple store to see what could be done.  I was basically told it couldn't be fixed, but that they would give me a brand new one at half off. I was disappointed it couldn't be fixed, but really surprised they were willing to give me a brand new one at half price, especially considering the fact that Apple was in no way responsible for the condition of my iPod.

I ended up declining on the offer.  Half off was a great offer, but we just couldn't afford it.  After all, I had learned that despite all the cracks, the iPod worked just fine.  And, amazingly, my daughter never asked to see it.  She used to love playing with the apps, but after it broke she lost interest.  Lucky for me since I wasn't about to let her use it anyway in fear she'd cut herself.

Now, months later, we're still using our shattered iPod just as much as we always did.  I'm so thankful that is still works.  I know that may seem silly, but I love my iPod.  I absolutely love to listen to music.  Music affects me in ways I can't describe.  I love putting in my head phones while cleaning the house, writing in my journal or just while I lay on the couch after having a long day.

So, instead of saying thanks to all the many people in my life that do so much for me (I already did that, anyway), today I am saying thanks to my iPod for still being there for me.

Looks can be deceiving.

P.S. My most recent iTunes purchase can be found here.  Love the song No Other Plans.