Five for Friday, Edition #36: 2026 Has Not Been Awesome

I hit publish on my whole "2026 is all about fun" post and it was like I had challenged a very wrathful god. So what I'm going to do here is start with lighthearted bad stuff, pair it with something I'm grateful for, and that will warm you up for what's going to happen at the end of the post. That way, if you don't want to be depressed as fuck (and who wants to on a Friday?), you can bail early.

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Thing #1: I have been saying the word neologism wrong all my life.

Grateful thing #1: I recently learned how to say neologism correctly. Just kidding, I still say it incorrectly, but note that I know it's wrong.

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Thing #2: Our town recently switched garbage providers. So there was a thing where for a time we had bins for the old place and the new place and they told us to leave our old bins on the curb after the last pickup, which I assumed meant they'd be picked up soon after the last pickup. Well, our last pickup for recycling was December 18 and it was well into the new year before the bin was picked up. 

Now, maybe I could have let this go, but here's the deal. We can't leave our bins on the curb because the curb is sloped. That means we have to put it in the street. For more than three weeks DURING WINTER everyone had these stupid bins out on the street and plows were knocking them over and they were being blown from one end of the street to the next. I got increasingly shrill about this. 

Grateful thing #2: The bins have been removed. 

For weeks!!! Also, the city was supposed to pick up leaves. In November. Ahem.

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Thing #3: During lunch at work, I can only do two of the following things: yoga, eat, go for a walk. That's it. It's hard for me to figure out how to best allocate my time. Since I have to eat or the consequences may include passing out, it really means I choose between doing yoga/stretching or going for a walk. Oh, well. It's on me that I created yearly goals that are in conflict with one another.

Grateful thing #3: I have flexibility to do those three things during lunch.

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Thing #4: I'm worried about Hannah. She's refusing to jump into the car, she has a wart/mole/bump thing that is growing quickly, and tonight I pet her on her hind and she whimpered and tucked tail. I am going to call the vet to see if I can get her an appointment next week. 

Grateful thing #4: We can afford treatment for her if it's something bad. 

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Thing #5: Humphrey's person's cancer came back. He's starting chemo again. He had to have a discussion about where Humphrey will go if...well, you know what if.

Grateful thing #5: We can wrap Humphrey's person in care and compassion and help him through this. We can walk the dog, shovel the sidewalk, teach his classes, and make him food. So much gratitude that we have the resources and health to do this.

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What are you grateful for today?