30 Days of Thankful

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November. That snuck up, didn’t it?

It’s a month of the first of many pairs of cold pink cheeks and chapped hands, putting away the lawn furniture and lawn mower, digging out the mittens and flannel sheets, and making warm drinks. November is a month of planning new projects on the sewing machine before the holiday rush infiltrates my brain and calendar. There are no more fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes or lettuce or flip-flops in November, it’s time to fatten up and hibernate in fuzzy socks inside of slippers, and eat pumpkin flavored baked goods instead. It’s the calm before the holiday storm. It’s the novelty of warming up and being cozy indoors before the stir crazy of being trapped inside sets in.

November is the month of Sarah and my birthdays. It’s also the month of my favorite holiday – Thanksgiving. And for these things I am grateful.

All over the Facebook world, people are posting something they are thankful for each day of the month of November. I enjoy the spirit behind this, but I haven’t been a great Facebook-er for some time, so I’m going to do it right here, right now and in one shot. You won’t get my daily Facebook-y gratitude inducing encounters with strangers helping carry my packages or the relay of one of my child’s quips that brightened my day, but nonetheless, I assure you that each and every day, I will be carrying on, grateful for those things too. I’ll also be singing my thanks for countless other things, because I know I could never capture all that I am thankful for in anywhere close to thirty bullet points.

30 Days of Thankful, November 2012.

  1. I’m thankful to be alive and healthy in mind, body and spirit.
  2. I’m thankful that I am raising my kids in a time where men are interested, hands-on and involved in kids’ lives, and that I’m married to one of those men who enjoys it and does it without asking.
  3. I’m thankful for the times when I am driving slowly like an idiot looking for a new address or a place to turn around, and there isn’t a line of cars behind me.
  4. I’m thankful for grandmothers. And things that suddenly remind me of mine.
  5. I’m thankful for my family, near and far, and those who make it up, whether they were born, married, adopted, or friended into it.
  6. I’m thankful that fleece lined hoodies with warm pockets never fail to provide me with security and contentment, like a baby swaddled in a blankey, and that they are sort of in-fashion enough that I can wear them pretty much all of the time.
  7. I’m thankful for the worlds inside of books and their easy availability to my kids and me.
  8. I’m thankful for the days I walk into my house and am welcomed by the scent reminding me that I had put something in the crock pot in the morning.
  9. I’m thankful for Sarah, and all of my friends, who, on some level, get me and get “it,” enough to make me think that we are on the right track.
  10. I’m thankful that I have never caught my own children purposely eating their own boogers or scabs.
  11. Even though I rarely drink more than one cup of coffee per day, I’m thankful for the inventor of the Keurig coffee maker, because it makes that cup perfect every time.
  12. I’m thankful for the earth that creates raspberries, green beans off the vine, and fresh peaches that even though you mightily slurp when you bite into them the juice drips down to your elbow.
  13. I’m thankful for gravity. It’s worth a few falls and shattered glasses for it to keep my feet on the ground and the sun rising every morning.
  14. I’m thankful that I have been raised to love, recognize and appreciate hard work, but that a lot of things come easy to me.
  15. I’m thankful for the satisfaction that I get when overcoming challenges and the pride of jobs well done, even as small as getting all of the kids’ nails cut in one evening, that makes me fulfilled by being an at home mom.
  16. I’m thankful that however annoying and heated the political Facebook posts and rants may be, it means that I live in a country where our voices can be freely heard (and screamed).
  17. I’m thankful that while there are things I might change and/or could use to scrub, I can’t think of a day I haven’t thought about my home being perfect for my family.
  18.  I’m thankful that I think my kids are being raised in a town of good hard working people with strong family and community values, and where I will always have someone who would bring me an egg or cup of brown sugar if I run out in the middle of baking.
  19. I’m thankful for anyone who teaches my children anything that leads them towards good, respectful, responsible lives.
  20. I’m thankful for going to bed most nights with the satisfaction of a day well lived.
  21. I’m thankful for the smell of pine trees, the crunch of a gravel road, and a clearing in the woods that opens up to a lake.
  22. I’m thankful my kids and husband have a sense of humor and that they excuse mine.
  23. I’m thankful for volunteers and people willing to step up.
  24. I’m thankful for little thrills (holding a lottery ticket), surprises (getting the 30% off coupon from Kohls), and the realization of miracles (that the small people in my house once lived inside of me).
  25. I’m thankful for being at an age where I’m neither too old nor too young to limit me from doing much of anything that I’d actually want to do.
  26. I’m thankful that luck and a healthy immune system have kept me from contracting salmonella from all of the cookie dough and batters that I sample.
  27.  I’m thankful for the victory of feeling caught up on all of the laundry, including towels and sheets, and even more thankful when it’s been 24 hours after that victory and no one has sent me back by waking up to a middle of the night stomach bug.
  28. I’m thankful for the abundance that requires the food and family to squeeze shoulder to shoulder into the dining room for Sunday dinner.
  29. I’m thankful for little bodies in footed pajamas that appear next to my bed with a “Good Morning, Mama,” as they crawl under the covers for a morning snuggle. Especially when they wait until after 7am to do it.
  30. I’m thankful for the absolute gift of feeling loved, blessed and protected, all of the time, all of my life.
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4 Comments

  1. Oh thank you dear Jenny. You put it all in remarkable perspective. Beautifully said friend. I am thankful that you are you

  2. Brilliantly written, I felt it deeply. You are a special lady with a beautiful heart and soul. 🙂

  3. That was awesome! I am thankful for this blog

  4. Beautiful blog!!! Just like yourself!!!

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