In my part of the world, it’s Thanksgiving.
Gratitude has become a big part of my life over the last few years, and it’s changed how I approach this holiday. Pausing to give thanks feels almost hardwired into my life—and I’m extremely grateful for that, too.
I’m staring down limited time to write this post, so without further ado, here are a few things I’m thankful for before I head off to enjoy turkey, stuffing, veggies, gravy, and a giant slice of pumpkin pie with my family seafood casserole, salad, and cinnamon coffee cake with ice cream; turkey is now happening on Wednesday!
“BIG” THINGS
- My family. For all of the everything.
- My husband. He is patient and kind and handsome and compassionate and loving and longsuffering.
- My kids. They are a joy and a blessing. They are hilarious and witty and smart and creative and fun and amazing adventurers.
- My parents. They are both still living and an active presence in my life. They are stable and loving and kind and caring. And they are never, ever intrusive. Advice is only given when it’s asked for, and this has been the case since the moment I got married. What a gift.
- My health. I am, generally speaking, in excellent health with full mobility. What a blessing.
- My church community. It feels like home. These people feel like family. What a priviledge.
- My friends. This includes so many of you who have become near and dear to my heart over the last 5+ years of blogging, but especially the friends who live nearby. Having people who care about me—and about whom I care in return—is such a delight.
- My home. What a privilege to have a roof over my head, a door that locks, and a warm place to come home to.
- My financial security. Again, what a blessing. I don’t have to worry about how I will keep my kids fed and clothed. I never want to take that for granted.
- My place in the world. So many people around the world don’t enjoy the freedoms and liberties that are easy for me to take for granted. I realize I was tremendously fortunate to be born in Canada.
“LITTLE” THINGS
- The sound of our robot vacuum cleaning the floors while I’m writing this post. It still gives me a thrill.
- The feeling of a warm mug in my hands, filled with hot tea.
- My favourite pens. Such a delight to write with them.
- The delicious leftovers I just finished eating. A simple spaghetti, but incredible nonetheless.
- This mug and these tea towels! So much joy from something so simple.
And now, I’m off to prep and eat yummy food with some of the people at the very top of my gratitude list.
To all my fellow Canadians celebrating today: Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you a special day with people you love.
Your turn.
- I’d love for everyone reading this post to participate in a little Thanksgiving gratitude practice. Tell me five things you’re thankful for today—”big” or “little.” (Bonus points if at least one is very, very small.) I’ll go first!
- A microwave to warm up the tea that went cold while I wrote this post.
- My new-to-me phone (a hand-me-down from John), which has hours more battery life than my very old one.
- My new eyelash curler! It’s heated! This feels positively luxurious.
- A quiet house. At this very moment, I’m the only person home, and I just took a minute to bask in the silence.
- Bathroom scissors! I’ve been missing the small scissors that used to live in the top drawer of our ensuite vanity for months. I found them downstairs and, as of today, I have scissors in the bathroom again!!!!
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Five things? Okay, Ill try, without using cats or showers.
1) The apple corer that has 16 slices. It makes eating apples so much easier. And baking with apples works better with consistent sized pieces, not random chunks.
2) Y-peeler. Makes peeling apples, etc so much simpler.
3) Bright – colored plastic folders for my class materials. Easy to identify which class I have at hand, sturdy and resistant to breaking and accidental spills.
4) CPAP- my daughter is sleeping so much better, and no accidents lately.
5) Anti-viral meds. My shingles rash has stopped spreading. And I can see out of my eye again.
BTW, has the CPAP become easier for you to use?
Enjoy and delicious and delightful Thanksgiving!
Well, I’m saying you have SEVEN, but cats and showers should absolutely show up on your list!
1) That’s a lot of slices! I love thin apple slices.
2) YES to Y-peelers. THE BEST.
4) Hooray. I returned mine after the study and have been using a bite tray (which might help slightly with my apnea), and figured it was so mild to begin with that I’m not going to pursue using one right now.
5) I am so, so sorry you’re dealing with shingles, but praise the Lord for meds!!!
Happy thanksgiving! Also, heated eye lash curler??? Tell us more!
Painkillers – such a blessing to be able to remove the headache for a bit
Washing my hair – I love the way my hair looks once it’s washed and dried
Being able to call the GP
A warm and freshly made bed
My alarm – it’s one of the wake-up light style alarms and I love having a bit of sunshine to wake up to every day. Even if it’s fake sunshine.
I LOVE the eyelash curler. It’s so easy to use. I’ll make sure to blog about it sometime soon. Mine has three heat settings and charges using USB. It’s quite similar to a normal eyelash curler, but there are ones that are very different and you sort of just pull a heated wand across your lashes.
I am so thankful for medications for things like shingles (see above!) and headaches.
I sleep with an eye mask or I would 100% be all over wanting a sunshine alarm clock. I’ve always thought those sound fantastic.
happy thanksgiving!!! Five thingsL
– waking up naturally when it’s still dark. meaning I have an hour for myself before the girls get up
– greeting by bubble when I entered my home office room
– AC. it’s such a luxury to sleep in a cold room.
– feeling rested despite my 3.5 hours run yesterday
– a day full of free time as it’s holiday ahead of me.
It is so nice to have margin and alone time in the morning.
Enjoy your holiday!! I wonder what it’s a holiday for in Brazil today??
Happy Thanksgiving!!! Okay…
-No school today which meant I could sleep a little later : )
-Earl Grey tea
-baseball playoffs
-a great book (currently reading The Dinner by Herman Koch)
-I’m going to copy Coco on this one, but all Floridians are extremely grateful for AC! Still hot here…
Right, it’s Columbus Day in the US, I think???
Yay for great books. I AM here for that one.
We have officially moved from AC weather to heat. It’s been chilly and I’m wearing a headband around my ears for every walk. sob
Seafood casserole for Thanksgiving?????? I wanna come to your house!!!
Also NEW PHONE WHO DIS!!!!! Yay for upgrades.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Belle’s “friend” doesn’t love turkey and we have a list of special meals that need making when my FIL is visiting, so we’ve just scooted things around to accommodate preferences. It’s prepped and in the fridge ready to be baked this evening.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Happy Birthday to me!
Five things (only five? I have a million!):
1. It is trying to rain and smells heavenly.
2. Our cabin is closed for the year and I am HOME.
3. Quiet time alone this morning.
4. A little stack of birthday cards to open.
5. My big blue & white mug with Maud’s vanilla coffee.
I am sure there is so much relief associated with being completely done with cabin trips for the season.
Happy Birthday!!!!!! I’m hoping that big blue and white mug is the 10 Strawberry Street one??
Yeppers! I use it for coffee in the morning and decaf tea in the afternoon or evening. It is so very pretty and makes me think of how you are “an influencer” in my life, which make me smirk ever so slightly because, gawl, I’m actually using that term.
Wait. I’m an influencer???!!! Haha.
Happy Thanksgiving! There is so much geopolitical upheaval right now so those of us living in countries where we don’t have to fear for our lives and safety are incredibly lucky! But it’s easy to forget that so I try to remind myself that my “problems” are truly first world problems.
Phil took Will along with him yesterday afternoon when he helped take docks/lifts out at a friend’s house + went to his mom’s for dinner. Having one kid around makes for a much calmer, easier afternoon!
I am so glad I found OTF in the last year+. It’s such a good fit for me as it’s a great workout, the coaches are great, and the set list of songs is always enjoyable!
It’s going to cool down after today. I had hit the point of the year where I was DONE with sweating and being home. Then it was nearly 90 Sat and Sun and will be warm again today. But it will cool down starting tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll sort of miss 80+ degree temps in a few months but at this point, I’ll take 40-50 over 80-90 in October.
The changing leaves are really pretty! And the boys really enjoy walking through crunchy leaves so it makes our walks extra enjoyable
I have a short one-night trip this week which I am very happy about as my last 2 trips were longer and so exhausting.
Hooray for being down to one child. The shift in dynamics can make SUCH a difference.
I am so happy for your OTF. It has been such a great fit and I am so impressed you sometimes fit in workouts on the road!!
It has been so much cooler/wetter than normal so far this fall. I’m missing the warm, sunny days I usually expect this time of year. But the leaves are lovely and I have to admit I enjoy the shorter days/earlier evenings. It makes everything feel a bit cozier.
Hooray for only one night. I mean, I wish you didn’t have to travel any more at all, but one night sounds so much better than recent long ones.
Happy Thanksgiving, Elisabeth!
Grateful for:
1.The sunshine highlighting all the different coloured leaves on the trees
2.A walk later this morning at one of my favourite parks
3.Our neighbours’ text message wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving this morning
4.Looking forward to enjoying the dinner my husband is making for us tonight and the dessert I made yesterday
5.Phone call with my sister later this afternoon
You have a wonderful day ahead of you. I’m curious what your dessert plans are for tonight?!
Happy Thanksgiving! Today I’m particularly grateful for the cup warmer that I was gifted a couple of years ago [amazon knockoff] and the luxury of taking a slow morning and still having my coffee hot without running to the microwave [hate tepid coffee LOL], and the luxury of a familyl of young adults willing to give up their time to do whatever I want for my birthday this weekend – if only I could make a choice! Are we heading into manhattan or hunkering down at home? Ack! Also grateful for a few more days with my muppet doodle who will get groomed this weekend – I do so enjoy the fluffy! – but she needs a shearing. Grateful that my youngest [grad student living at home] asked to do something fun together today on her day off school – so sweet. Hmmm number five would probably be that I’m feeling grateful for seasons – I am trying to love winter, but I do love fall – and I would miss the transitions if I didn’t live where they exist! That is this morning’s rumination – enjoy the holiday and wishing you a year full of things to be grateful for!
Ohhh! A birthday weekend of fun sounds delightful. I will admit I had a pang of jealousy when you mentioned popping into Manhattan!
I enjoy the transitions, too. Winter lasts… forever in this part of the world.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m thankful for:
1. Leftover chicken fried steak we got to bring home from a church meal!
2. A good night’s sleep
3. Dug up lots of sweet potatoes from the garden!
4. That a busy week/weekend is over
5. Coffee
Leftovers for the win!
It’s been very fun to read along as you’ve continued to harvest things from your garden.
Coffee. Always coffee! It’s evening where I live and I’m looking forward to my morning cup already 🙂
1) automatic coffee makers (ie coffee set to brew before I’m awake)! make my day, every day!
2) BOOKS.
3) the amazing ability to stream basically any music (or show, or movie) we want!
4) beautiful stationery 🙂
5) blog-friends-turned-IRL friends!!! xoxo
We are LOVING our automatic coffee maker. Such a delight.
Actually, all of your things are happy things for me, too! I have been reading so many great books this month. Books are delightful.
Jana, happy birthday! ❤️
Elisabeth, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! I am thankful for you!!!
Awww. Thanks, friend <3