Wednesday, November 23, 2016

In Thanksgiving

"What if, today, we were grateful for everything?"         ~ Charlie Brown

November 1st: I'm thankful for prayer, conversation, and laughter shared around the dinner table, even when not one of the four Ferri enjoyed the new recipe I tried.

November 2nd: I'm thankful for the occasional free-of-activities afternoon.

November 3rd: I'm thankful for a music teacher who has fostered Will's love of vocal and instrumental (including recorder) music and helped him feel comfortable speaking, singing, and performing on stage.

November 4th: I'm thankful we - and by we, I mean myself and my dance mom friends and our dancing daughters - made it safely to Dallas for our first Dance Revolution! (And our first dance convention ever, for that matter.)

November 5th: I'm thankful for a husband and son who pitch in, even though they don't really want to do so, when I need a little extra help around the house.

November 6th: I'm thankful for Guest Services employee Alex and a valet employee whose name I didn't catch at the DFW Hyatt Regency Hotel, without whom we wouldn't have made it home safely from our weekend in Dallas.

November 7th: I'm thankful for an exhausting adventure of a weekend spent connecting with my Gal Hal as well as some of my best friends and their daughters. (And I'm thankful to have slept in my own bed - and not with my bed- and cover-hog daughter - last night.)

November 8th: I'm thankful for my right to vote, and for all those who fought to make that right possible.

November 9th: I'm thankful for my girl, who chose to do something kind for someone else this afternoon, and for the joy she so clearly feels while creating.

November 10th: I'm thankful for my boy, who chose to do something kind for someone else this afternoon. I didn't know what he'd done until she told me...his gesture turned out to be the one bright spot in her day.  

November 11th: On Veterans Day, I'm thankful for the men and women who have served or are currently serving our country as members of the United States Armed Forces.

"Let future generations understand the burden and the blessings of freedom. Let them say we stood where duty required us to stand."     ~ George H. W. Bush

November 12th: I'm thankful all four Ferri could spend Saturday together...for the first time since the beginning of August!

November 13th: I'm thankful for boxed macaroni and cheese, leftover pumpkin cake, People Magazine, and a full hour spent not worrying about all of the things I usually worry about on Sunday nights.

November 14th: I'm thankful for a really big coffee mug in which to hold the massive amount of coffee needed to get through this Monday.
After I finished my coffee I discovered that this beautiful mug -
a birthday present from a sweet friend - can double as a vase!
November 15th: I'm thankful for the 90+ minutes I spent hanging in the car with Hallie while we waited for Will at soccer practice. We talked, paid bills, and practiced her spelling words, she gave me a massage, and I listened to her take her stuffed animals on a "field trip" to the amusement park, miniature golf course, swimming pool, and ice cream shop in the trunk.

Oh, and I'm thankful for my friend and massage therapist Bev, who by massaging Hallie a couple of weeks ago inadvertently taught her how to give a decent massage!

November 16th: I'm thankful that while my plantar fasciitis is not cured (it likely never will be, given the shape of my feet, the regularity with which I insist on using them, and my aversion to any sort of invasive treatment for this kind of problem), it is no longer debilitatingly painful.

November 17th: I'm thankful my husband appreciates whatever I cook for him for dinner, even when it's just bagged salad, packaged ravioli, and sauce from a jar.

November 18th: I'm thankful for the lovely friends who joined me for drinks, dinner, and painting (surprisingly challenging Christmas trees) in honor of my birthday. I don't like big celebrations or being showered with birthday attention, and they did a wonderful job of making me feel special but not overwhelmed.

November 19th: I'm thankful our house has a fireplace, our fireplace turns on easily with a quick turn of a knob and a lighter, and for weather that finally justified enjoying its warmth!

November 20th: I'm thankful for the opportunity to cross another holiday-related activity off my bucket list, and for the great friends with whom we shared the experience.

And...I'm thankful for our first frost, which means at least some of the massive, vicious mosquitoes in our backyard have finally perished!

November 21st: I'm thankful that dutifully sitting through Hallie's dance lessons on Monday afternoons gives me an opportunity to spend 165 minutes - 60 or so of which are actually peaceful! - chatting with friends.

November 22nd: I'm thankful for the opportunity to experience Will and Hallie's very first legitimate concert with them!

November 23rd: For the second November 23rd in a row I felt relief that my birthday had come to an end…I still can't quite figure out these feelings, so I'll push them under the rug for another year and be thankful for a calm and quiet day that wasn't in any way about me.

November 24th: A day early, I'm thankful for my family, my friends, and my health. For the ability to provide my husband and children with all of what they need and some of what they want. For balance, for forgiveness, and for grace. And last but not least, for the opportunity to write, and for all of you who by reading have made it possible for me to pursue my passion. 

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

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