Thanksgiving: Daily Gratitude 26

I'm grateful for a loud and full Thanksgiving celebration: for stampeding children and piles of tasty food and flowing wine and the convergence of family. I'm grateful for an adorable nephew who shares my love of sharks and insists that he hates when I give him a zerbert (aka "raspberry") but keeps coming back for more, amidst peals of laughter.

And thousands of miles away, I'm reminded how thankful I am for my husband, who is generous enough to share his wife and daughter with other family, while he is home alone. Who for 13 years has been steady and sure, providing for me and for our daughter. Who has allowed me much freedom to do the things I love.

And, of course, I am grateful for The May Queen. Her presence in my life has taught me things about love I didn't know I had to learn.

I am blessed beyond measure.

A Season of Thanks

I, like you, have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. And I, perhaps like you, spent a fair amount of the day grumbling... at least in my head.

I'm having a hard time reconciling the Thanksgiving in my brain with the one that actually happens, and this morning I felt awfully grumpy about the ordinariness of the day.

But by now, the end... as I sit sipping a glass (er...what number is it?) of wine and still stuffed to the gills from our 3:30 dinner, I am thankful for our quiet and relaxing day. Thankful for the fried turkey we bought from our church as a fundraiser to feed children in Haiti. Thankful for our friend who came to eat with us, bringing several yummy dishes. Thankful for my grandfather who is staying with us all this week, and today told stories about meeting my grandmother and getting the dog they had when my mother grew up. Thankful that The May Queen is old enough to play games like Uno, and that we could all gather around the table and laugh and enjoy each other's company.

It's not a loud bustling Thanksgiving. It was quiet, and almost ordinary. A sharing of a meal by a small group of family and friends. And that is truly something to be grateful for.

I am also very thankful for this lovely decoration, which I won a few weeks ago over at Potted Frog. The photo does not do it justice, particularly with the sun shining on it like that, but it's a wonderful and warm welcome to my home, hanging just inside the door, and will be a reminder for years to come of how thankful I am for all of you... my bloggy friends. And Louise... THANKS! I love it!

A season of thanks... a season of blessings... a season of love