Not a thankless Thanksgiving

Karen spent most of the daylight hours in the kitchen as she put together our Thanksgiving meal. By the time it was ready, I had snacked too much to really dive in. But I did have a little of everything! And it was stupendous.

There’s just one small detail we accidentally omitted from this meal. Of all the meals throughout the entire year, this is one of the very few—if not the only one—that didn’t start with a prayer. You’d think that of all the meals we eat, this is the one for which we would offer much THANKS...but alas. We did not. We simply forgot to. Don’t ask me how.

I should say that we talked a bit this morning about how blessed we have been this past year. This has been a subject of conversation for quite some time, actually, as Karen and I have reflected on what 2012 has delivered to us. We both feel more blessed than we can say that we have been fortunate enough to move here to Logan, for me to go back to school and pass Exam P, and for all the other things in between. Our fridge broke three times, someone got into a car accident with me, and some other unwanted things occurred, but above all of that we are moving forward as a family and progressing to a point of establishing ourselves in a good career. The future is bright, and we are thankful.

Here's a quick top ten list of thankful-fors, so called because they are the first ten things, for which I am thankful, that I am writing off the top of my head.

1. A passing grade on the first actuarial exam
2. Reach mint-waxed floss
3. The scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ
4. A temple so close by
5. My Zebra mechanical pencil and Pentel Tri-Eraser
6. Ice cream
7. A vacuum and a mop
8. Karen's unfailing sense of love and optimism
9. Kind words from strangers
10. Baby Einstein videos

I've got the whole Kilimanjaro in my hands

Spencer Sitton, my multivariable calculus instructor from the summer term, told me the other day that he had some books he wanted to give me. He said that he looked at one and thought, “I bet Tyler would want this,” and he encouraged me to come by his office to pick them up soon.

So to his office I went this afternoon, and he handed me a stack of five different probability and actuarial books, almost all of which I have already referenced several times for one reason or another. There was no adequate way to express my thanks given his abundant generosity—because let me tell you, these books are not cheap—but I did thank him. He also offered his assistance in finding an actuarial internship through his connections in Phoenix should I need it in the future. Simply, for an aspiring actuary, Spencer is the friend to have. He has been nothing but generous to me.

And, of course, I asked Karen to pick me up from campus. Because no way was I going to haul that Kilimanjaro-size stack of books on a walk home.

Nine days is not two weeks

From about Independence Day until now, Karen and I have been talking about how there are only two weeks left of school. But when I sat down in my first class this morning, it suddenly occurred to me that school is over in nine days. Nine days! That’s not two weeks at all. That’s not even a week and a half, speaking technically. And now that Monday has come and gone, that’s about a week. In total, that’s five days of instruction and one day of finals. I don’t know how this is going to work out, but somehow I’m going to be prepared for my exams and finish strong.

The biggest surprise today, however, came when I got back last week's calculus test at the end of class today. I looked at it and it said 100/100 on the front! Believe me, I feel tremendous gratitude that my grade is sitting so well right now.