Thirty Days of Thankful

Every year all of my favorite bloggers and websites issue challenges to list thankfulness.  You've seen them.  They're usually called something like "thirty days of thanks".  It is, after all, the month of Thanksgiving.  So it seems appropriate that we should get into the spirit of things.   (Which, by the way, is to be thankful and not to just stuff our face with turkey and cranberry sauce, in case you were wondering.)  Yes, each year I see these challenges and I think to myself, what a wonderful idea, but it's just one more thing to commit to and what if I fail at it in some way?  What if I forget a day?  What if I can't think of something one day and I realize just how shallow and discontent I am?  What if you realize how shallow and discontent I am?  Well, so what if all of those things happen?  Isn't that the point; to realize that we are ungrateful for our very blessed lives and grow in a spirit of gratitude?

I think I'm at a place in my life where I need to do this.  I need to record just how lucky I am to live the life that I do.  I'm in this place somewhere between where I was and where I want to be.  This place is rife with discontentment and frustration.  Not to mention, it's exhausting to travel from point A to point B.  I'm working  as hard as I can, but some days I feel like a hamster on wheel, going nowhere fast.  I have to stop and remind myself that what I'm doing is good work.  It has a purpose.  I'm where I need to be for this moment.  And here in this place is a whole lot to be thankful for.

So here I am.  Committing to thirty days of thanks.  Actually I've decided to participate in The Joy Dare from A Holy Experience.   Ann makes it easy for those of us who are new to making lists of thanks.  She refers to the blessings in our lives as gifts.  I like that.  Life is a gift and all that fills our lives are gifts.  We aren't guaranteed any of it.   I believe it's transforming to think in those terms.  A gift is something to be cherished.  For that reason, that of transforming my mind (and heart), each day I will list three gifts that I'm thankful for, according to the Joy Dare categories.  Seems easy enough.  Of course, I say that now, on day one.  You'll have to forgive me if I miss a day or two or three.  I'm trying.  It's not about perfection but rather process.

On this first day of November we are to list three gifts eaten.   This was hard.  Not because I couldn't think of anything but because  I could think of far too much.  But here is what I've narrowed it down to.

• Bechamel Sauce.  I made a lovely bechamel tonight.   This is no small thing.  I have been trying, and failing, to make a decent bechamel for years.  I know, it's suppose to be easy, but I mess it up in some way every single time.  Tonight, though, it turned out just right.   I needed that success today.  I also needed the family dinner time that followed.  I sat at the table listening to my children share stories of their day and knew that there was no other place I'd rather be.  Just me, my sprites, and a warm pasta in a lovely bechamel sauce.  As busy as our lives are, family dinners are still a priority.  It centers us and brings us together, if only for twenty minutes.  I need that time and so do they. 
• Steak, potatoes, and eggs.  I have this dear friend who was recently given over 90 eggs from a local farmer friend.  That's a lot of eggs.  So she shared.  This same friend also happens to be from Idaho.  On a recent trip home, she dug up bags and bags of potatoes.  So she shared.  My mama was in town recently and stocked my freezer with steak (and my fridge and pantry with treats as well).  Can you say steak and eggs, steak and potatoes,  eggs and hash browns...I can keep going, but I think you get the idea.  I'm thankful for friends and family who take care of us by feeding us well.
• Jelly and Jam.  In my pantry I have jars of my grandma's grape jelly.  The boy won't eat any other kind.  Every year she says that it's her last year to make jelly.  "It's too much work," she says.  But each year she makes more.  We're very glad she does.  The same friend mentioned above gave me some of her mama's jelly.  It's raspberry and blackberry jelly.  It's delicious.  In my pantry I have blueberry jam that I made and canned with a friend.  Just looking at the jar reminds me of a good time full of laughter and sharing.  I also have strawberry jam made from strawberries that my children helped me pick.  All of these jars represent the tradition of women who preserve the harvest and pour themselves into making good things to eat for their family and friends.  I love everything about that.  I'm thankful for all of these women, for tradition, for homemaking, nurturing, and delicious jars of sweet jams and jellies that represent all of these things.