Today I am thankful that I was too busy having fun long into the night last night to compose my regular Thankful Thursday gratitude list.
What am I grateful for?
* a visit with a dear friend over tea and international cookies (each cookie had the name and an image of a city or country on it)
* laughing at crazy products with her as we walked through World Market
* my daughter and I met my Mom at Starbucks today and had a lovely time
* a lunch date set up for tomorrow
* a baby shower as well - new life is soon to come. Who doesn't love that new baby smell?
* volunteering at the Loaves and Fishes food pantry with my daughter this afternoon
* for the conversation I had with one of the other volunteers in which we spoke of the time we spent in Haiti, not on the same trip, but we both went to the same village in the mountains of that beautiful island
* each client who came in to pick up food, some with smiles, most with hard-luck stories to share, all with gratitude for the assistance we were providing
* the woman who asked us to pray for her as she is interviewing for various jobs
* the other woman who is dealing with vision problems due to diabetes and who takes care of her 14 year old nephew who has hepatitis and several other serious illnesses that keep him out of school
* I am enormously grateful for the existence of that pantry, not only for those in need of the sustenance provided, but also for those of us whose needs are different, but who want to help them meet their pressing need for food
* all the beautiful, fresh, sweet, ripe fruit and vegetables available at this time of year
* whenever there is a sale on fresh produce
* the ability to go to the supermarket and buy what we need and what we want without worry
* the many supermarkets, farmers' markets, roadside stands, and other stores where so much food is available for purchase
* this amazing, beautiful, overworked, underappreciated planet that provides us with so much bounty
* those willing to do the intense and often thankless work to grow, harvest, ship, stock and sell it to the world
* I am grateful that my tastebuds are back in full working order - losing that simple and profoundly important gift during chemo is not something I will soon forget
* getting my sewing machine back from the repair shop
* not running into the EXTREMELY RUDE woman who attended me when I dropped it off last week
* that I didn't reach across the counter, grab her by the throat, and give her a good shake
* the kind and gracious and thankful gentleman who explained the problem to me
* not having to pay too much for the repair
* I am grateful (in advance) for the alterations of old garments and the production of new garments that I will be working on in the next few weeks
* I am grateful that I have stopped buying fabric - I do not need to make any more maxi skirts or infinity scarves than the ones already in production!
* I am thankful for the chatter of birds, chipmunks and squirrels when I'm walking in the morning
* I am thankful for the cool temperatures during those early hours of the day
* I am thankful for air conditioning in the heat of the day
* I am thankful for the efficiency of the ceiling fan above my bed, especially at night
* I am thankful for the breezes that blow through the car when I drive with the windows open
* I am thankful for gas stations with the option of getting a car wash
* I am thankful for safe travel every time I return from an outing and pull into my driveway
* I am thankful for electricity every time I flip a switch
* I am thankful for running water every time I turn the handle
* I am thankful that I still notice those tiny miracles
* I am thankful that my life has consisted of so many miracles, large and small
* I am thankful that even in the darkest and most difficult times in my life, there have always been miracles - always
* I am thankful for the many courageous women (and men) writing and telling their stories of illnesses, of infertility, of divorce, of depression, of difficult parenting issues, of financial instability, of loneliness, of body image issues, of eating disorders, of addiction, of sorrow of all kinds
* I am thankful for the stories of healing, forgiveness, strength, reprieve, restoration, reconciliation, love, babies, jobs found, graduation, completion, reunions, and marriage too
* I am thankful that so many people are willing to open their mouths and their hearts, inviting all of us to walk with them on their journey and inviting themselves to walk with us on ours. As we say in our house, "Everybody's got something," so once someone decides to break the silence and tell the truth, keeping it real, then the rest of us can exhale, breathe deeply, drop our tense shoulders, and surrender into the beauty and the mess, the joy and the grief, the hunger and the fullness, the doubts and the trust, the fear and the hope, the hugs and even the rejections that we all face in this life, on this life journey.
* I am thankful for you - that you are here with me on my journey, reading my rants, sending love and encouragement and kind thoughts.
Thanks be to God.
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