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A 'moving' inventory of many things to be thankful for

One last "move" column, wrapped in a package of Things I Will Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving Day (besides faith, family, career and the other usual suspects):

• That I'm on only the second-floor of a walk-up, and that there's no third floor. Well, we are on the third floor if we count that extra, narrow, steep flight of stairs leading from the back parking lot/basement area to the first floor. But it's a second-floor apartment if we can get a street-parking spot, which we quickly realized can be hard to get, because none of the neighbors likes the basement stairs either.

• That we have clothes for our backs, but that we don't own any more than we own, since the movers didn't handle them ... and we had to transport them by the armload up those basement stairs.

• His-and-hers closets. Got these now. Nah, they're not walk-ins with a bunch of cute, cabinet-y built-ins. But they're two separate closets. I suspect Dre may be more thankful for this than I. Especially after hauling my clothes up those basement stairs.

• Books. They're wonderful. They really are. They can entertain and inform. They can transport the reader to a whole new world. Growing up poor in rural areas, I used them as a mode of travel through space and time. They certainly boosted my vocabulary, not to mention steered me to what would become my life's work. It's just that being married to a one-time (and still at heart) librarian; transporting 25 boxes of books to storage; and having boxes upon boxes to unpack and refill the three full-size bookcases and one mini we moved to the new place ... well.

• Muscles. Hey, we have 'em now!

• State-of-the-art central heating and air. So far we've learned to turn the heat way up to keep the unit from blowing arctic air on us intermittently in an attempt to keep the place at a certain temperature.

• HGTV. Always a good comparison tool. Nice hardwood floors? Check. Open floor plan? Nah, but we can live without it. Granite countertops? Well, no, but the slivers of countertop we have aren't laminate either, and for that we're very thankful. Slate tile kitchen floor? Yes, thank you, Lord. Stainless-steel appliances? Farmhouse sink? Well, no, but there's a new, stainless-steel, nondivided sink that looks farmhouse-y if we squint. And can we just rejoice over new appliances?

• Utilities. I love them. I promise I love them. It's good to have things like phone and electricity and stuff. It's easy to forget to be thankful for them when you have to transfer services, but once the transfer blues are over with, there is room to be doubly thankful.

• Quiet. Another adjustment. After a few years of wee-hours-of-the-morning cuss-outs, the vroom-vroom of the cars speeding down the much-used street at the old place, and the cranking, groaning and loud humming of buses and garbage trucks, quiet can be almost creepy at first.

• Actual darkness at night. Same deal as with the quiet, as we also had a large, powerful street light right outside the old digs.

• Windows. Especially those with a decent view, and since we're on the second floor, we can actually sit by the window with our homemade mocha, open a blind or two and gaze out without being concerned that somebody is going to be standing on the outside peeping in.

• Indoor plumbing. Which I had for the first six years of my life, and have now had on a steady basis for 35 years. But boy, I'll never forget that 11-year stretch of childhood and adolescence without it.

• Healthful eating. After dealing with the alternatives due to the disruption of the move, fruit, veggies, whole grains and nuts look better than ever.

• New beginnings. Specifically, another chance to redecorate and hope that this latest attempt won't fall prey to building infrastructure issues and clutter.

• Shelter. We've had our challenges in that area, but it is truly, truly a blessing to have a roof over one's head.

Thankful for email:

hwilliams@arkansasonline.com

Style on 11/23/2014

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