Today I'm thankful for: that really lovely time I had on my 21st birthday

Today and every day I'm thankful for the really lovely time I had on my 21st birthday, 11 years ago yesterday. 

I turned in my honors thesis that morning, and I felt like in an enormous weight had been lifted from me.  (In hindsight, this was probably a sign that I was not going to enjoy grad school.)  To celebrate, I bought myself a copy of a Piled Higher and Deeper anthology from the Seminary Co-op, and read it over Thai coffee at the Social Sciences coffee shop.  After Greek class, I went to get a haircut at the Reynolds Club. I knew my friend Suzanne looked up to me, but I hadn't appreciated quite how much until she decided to tag along with me to my haircut and sat with me during the whole thing so that we wouldn't have to end our conversation. She was telling me about the difference between Virgil and Homer: Homer (as we both knew well) has difficult vocabulary but simple grammar; whereas Virgil, apparently, has simple vocabulary but complicated grammar.

I went out to dinner that evening in a hip neighborhood I had never been to before with, among others, Annie Roberts, Teresa, Matt, Logan Bee, Justine, and Nick Reich.  Nick told me his younger brother's birthday was on April 26, 1986, Chernobyl Day.  I ordered a glass of sangria with dinner, and while the server did card me, she did not comment on the fact that it was my 21st birthday.  Ron and Carolyn weren't able to come to dinner, but they did sign the birthday card, and it meant so much to me that people thought enough of me to do that.

I still have the shirt that I wore that day, and every time I look at it, I think of that day, what a nice day it was, and how touched I felt that people took the time to spend time with me.  It's a memory I'm always going to treasure, and I am thankful.

Today I'm thankful for: that time April invited me to BaltiCon

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for that time April invited me to go to BaltiCon.

I had never been in all my years in Baltimore, but once April called it to my attention, I got so excited I got an entire weekend pass and went to see the Girl Genius radio play, in addition to the day I spent with April.  I saw a great artist talk (which I never would have seen if April hadn't suggested it), got a little stuffed dragon souvenir, heard Connie Willis, and April bought me a copy of Doomsday Book.  It was so sweet of April to invite me.  I am lucky to have friends who think of me, and I am thankful.

Word of the day: tyro

The word of the day is tyro:

1. a beginner in learning anything; novice.

1611, from M.L. tyro, variant of L. tiro (pl. tirones) "young soldier, recruit, beginner," of unknown origin.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tyro)

"Over the next thirty years he worked in seventeen campaigns across Europe.  But he made his first important discovery while a tyro."

 - Sam Kean, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery

Today I'm thankful for: xkcd

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for xkcd.  This one remains one of my favorites: https://xkcd.com/552/.

Today I'm thankful for: umbrellas

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for umbrellas.

Today I'm thankful for: the new green of spring leaves

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the new green of spring leaves.

Today I'm thankful for: that time Morgan watched the babies so I could see Twisted Melodies

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for that time Morgan watched not just Alice and Katherine but also their friend Ramona so Michelle and I could go see Twisted Melodies.  This is just one of many examples of how he goes above and beyond for me.  I really am lucky to have him, and I am thankful.

Today I am thankful for: lilacs

Today (and every day) I am thankful for lilacs.

Today I'm thankful for: my parents visiting

Today (and every day) I'm thankful that my parents came out to visit us this weekend.  We had a great time!

Today I'm thankful for: public lending libraries

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for public lending libraries.

Today I'm thankful for: Planet Money

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the Planet Money podcast.

They uncover stories I never would hear about otherwise, like this week's great episode on the (second) Bank of the United States, its downfall, and the subsequent Panic of 1837 (http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/03/24/521436839/episode-761-the-bank-war).  I dimly recall learning something about this in eighth grade U.S. history, but Planet Money explains it in a way that sticks.  Planet Money discusses economics and history in a way I can understand, and I am thankful.

Today I'm thankful for: EPA's regulation of pesticides

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the EPA's regulation of pesticides.

Pests kill crops, which means that pests kill people.  A million people died in the Irish Potato Famine.  Humans have therefore developed pesticides to kill pests and protect human health.

You want to be careful when you're applying biocides to food.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) therefore regulates the use of pesticides.  Before a company can introduce a pesticide into the food supply, they send an application to EPA, who reviews it to make sure it's safe for humans.

The biggest threat to food safety right now is, unquestionably, bacterial contamination of fruits and vegetables.  We know that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for your chronic health, but the fact remains that you're taking your life into your hands every time you place a raw fruit or vegetable in your mouth.  We need interventions to reduce the risk of pathogens on these foods, not just to improve food safety, but also to increase our confidence in eating foods that are good for our longterm health.  EPA is responsible for making sure these interventions are safe, and I am thankful.

Today I'm thankful for: Morgan's taking parental leave

Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the fact that Morgan was able to take parental leave.

I remember the day I woke up and actually felt well for the first time since the babies were born.  It was week 7, day 6, which is fortunate, because my employer allowed me to use only eight weeks' sick leave for a C-section.  This was not just the first time I felt well since the babies were born; this was the first time I had felt well since February.

I can only imagine how much more exhausted I would have been, and how much longer it would have taken me to recover, if Morgan hadn't also taken leave and done the lion's share of baby care.  He didn't just take care of the babies; he took care of me, too.  Alice, Katherine, and I are lucky to have him, and I'm thankful.

Word of the day: bilharzia

The word of the day is bilharzia:

schistosome

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bilharzia)

"Invalided back to France with bilharzia, he had opened a practice in Grenoble."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: millenarian

The word of the day is millenarian:

1. of or pertaining to a thousand, especially the thousand years of the prophesied millennium.
2. of or pertaining to the millennium, especially of Christian prophecy, or millennialism.

1550s, "one who believes in the coming of the (Christian) millennium," from L. millenarius (see millennium) + -ian. As an adj., from 1630s.

"After the Battle of Armageddon would follow the second coming of Christ, when his elected would reign in happiness and prosperity for a thousand years.  Much of what Darby preached was not new, but he wove the strands of earlier millenarianism and prophecy into a tightly spun system of his own, supported by Biblical texts, then communicated it to his followers in his endless writings and during his impassioned speaking tours."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: roneo

The word of the day is roneo:

1. :  to produce (printed copies) on a duplicating machine that is similar in principle to the mimeograph
   (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roneo)
   
   "They had hastily typed out and roneoed forms bearing the words 'Paternal responsibility and rights of guardianship abandoned by me' – a necessary formula under French law – and leaving room for names and signatures."
    - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: soutane

The word of the day is soutane:

1. a cassock.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/soutane)

"He was a shabby, dishevelled-looking man, of great charm and energy, with an old soutane and shoes with flapping soles."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: clinker

The word of the day is clinker:

1. a mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the burning of coal.
2. a hard Dutch brick, used especially for paving.
3. a partially vitrified mass of brick.
4. the scale of oxide formed on iron during forging.
5. Geology. a mass of vitrified material ejected from a volcano.

1769, from klincard (1641), a type of paving brick made in Holland, from Du. klinkaerd, from klinken "to ring" (as it does when struck), from M.Du., of imitative origin. 

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clinker)

"The courtyard was made of clinker, which turned into dust in the summer and mud when it rained."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: prevaricate

The word of the day is prevaricate:

1. to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.

1580s, "to transgress," from L. praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate," lit. "walk crookedly;" in Church L., "to transgress" (see prevarication). Meaning "to speak evasively" is from 1630s.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prevaricate)

"At every stage, the bureaucrats prevaricated.  The prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône did all he could to keep too many would-be emigrants out of Marseilles, while the individual camps dragged their heels about transferring people to Les Milles, the only camp in which they were permitted to complete the formalities."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets

Word of the day: chilblains

The word of the day is chilblains:

1. an inflammation of the hands and feet caused by exposure to cold and moisture.

"Unable to go outside, permanently damp, the inmates huddled close together; their faces were red and chafed, their hands and feet purple and covered in chilblains."

 - Caroline Moorehead, Village of Secrets