{"id":12210,"date":"2013-11-12T21:19:41","date_gmt":"2013-11-12T21:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/challengedetroit.org\/blog\/elizabethmachesky\/?p=15"},"modified":"2013-11-12T21:19:41","modified_gmt":"2013-11-12T21:19:41","slug":"thankful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/thankful\/","title":{"rendered":"Thankful"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seat warmers. \u00a0Seat warmers are all it took.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it funny how the littlest things spark the biggest thoughts?<\/p>\n

Getting into my car yesterday, I was frazzled. \u00a0I left work worrying about the deliverable I just finished, annoyed that I had to stop for gas, exasperated that I had several loads of laundry to conquer, and frustrated that I chose to have baked sweet potatoes and tofu for dinner \u2013 a meal that takes about an hour to cook via the oven. \u00a0As I pulled out of my office\u2019s parking lot watching big flakes float from the sky and cling to my window, I wanted to cry \u2013 what if it was still snowing during tomorrow morning\u2019s run? \u00a0Feeling immense amounts of self pity, I mindlessly turned the radio to the nonstop Christmas station, and flipped on my trusty seat warmer.<\/p>\n

As I pressed the button for maximum heat to begin frying my gluteous maximus, it hit me. \u00a0My display of righteous indignation was at best selfish, and at worst, appallingly ignorant. \u00a0Sure, I left work concerned about my deliverable, but at least I have a job. \u00a0I had to stop for gas and do the laundry? \u00a0At least I have money for gas and laundry detergent, not to mention warm, properly-fitting clothes. \u00a0My dinner was going to take an hour to cook? \u00a0Yeah, but at least I have access to hot, filling, nutritious food. \u00a0Oh, and it was snowing, HA; I have a car from which to watch the flakes swirl around me as I not only sit in the heat, but I even have my own personal toosh warmer! \u00a0Immediately, I was ashamed by my thoughts.<\/p>\n

Through Challenge Detroit, I was fortunate enough to learn this week via the State of the Detroit Child<\/a>\u00a0that nearly one in four Detroit households has no access to a vehicle. \u00a0This does not mean that 25% of Detroiters don\u2019t have a car with working heat, it means they don\u2019t have a car at all. \u00a0As the snow hit my windshield, it also hit the faces, exposed hands, and maybe even the shoe-less feet of my neighbors. \u00a0I continued to think about this, and took a moment for gratitude.<\/p>\n

What are you Thankful for this season? \u00a0My loving family, my good health, and my fortune at being selected to participate in Challenge Detroit all top my list this year.<\/p>\n

As a few lingering flakes continue to fall today, my thoughts wander to how I can make\u00a0an impact on those outside in the snow. \u00a0I think after posting this blog, I\u2019m going to mosey over to the\u00a0Salvation Army<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0to donate an old winter coat. It may seem trivial, but even small things can make a world of difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seat warmers. \u00a0Seat warmers are all it took. Isn\u2019t it funny how the littlest things spark the biggest thoughts? Getting into my car yesterday, I was frazzled. \u00a0I left work worrying about the deliverable I just finished, annoyed that I had to stop for gas, exasperated that I had several loads of laundry to conquer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[62,63,252,253,254],"class_list":["post-12210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-challenge-detroit","tag-detroit","tag-salvation-army","tag-snow","tag-thankful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}