What Are You Thankful For

Life is hard. Need I say more? Well, yes, or this would be a very short blog. Life is hard. It is the hardness that enhances the softer things in life. We are celebrating Thanksgiving, but perhaps we should just be thankful for things to celebrate.

As we go into the holiday season, many are struggling, worrying, wondering how they will get by. Some are waiting for test results, wondering if life as they know it is about to change. Some are grieving....and will be for the rest of their days. Some are expecting and filled with wonder. Some are full of happy anticipation. Some are full of fear. Some are thrilled to be decorating, some are trying to muster the energy to decorate. Some are just trying to make it through the next ten minutes. Which camp are you in? It's okay if you have a foot on one side, and one on the other, all the while tap dancing, juggling and faking it until you make it. We aren't just one thing....we are many facets of a complicated life.

While Thanksgiving centers around family and food, it is possible to take that down to more simple realities. We can take it from the larger picture, the "perfect" holiday image, to small bites of our real life. This is the second year I've placed an interactive sign on the sidewalk for comments about "what are you thankful for". I post what I am thankful for, although I could cover the whole sign with just my own gratitude's. Then I leave sticky notes, and tape for passers by to add their own. I have considered the possibility that no one will comment. If that was the case, it would be okay. This sign is an invitation to pause and ponder. To find some good, no matter how small, to wrap our hearts around. There are about 10 messages on it as I write. From people who are thankful for their faith, family, flowers and birds, health, good neighbors, for being Grandma's, for having friends who are more like sisters. The FedEx guy is thankful for his/her family and faith, our country and the opportunity to post on my sign. They weren't even delivering to my house, but stopped to be grateful. I love that one! I suspect that some paused in gratitude even if they didn't post. That's a win right there.

We can take the most awful life event...and somewhere down the road find a reason, find some clarity, and be grateful. We can take a leap of faith trusting all will be well. In that wellness, in that reality, we can dig deep and embrace thanksgiving.

Where ever you are in life, pause....... Find a hundred reasons to be thankful. Or, if life is hard, dig deep to find one small nugget of gratitude. If life is really, really, hard, trust that gratitude is growing, manifesting and will break out of the darkness into light.  Know that I am grateful for you. I'm grateful for the blessed, and the bumpy path that led me to this place in life. For the courage to put out a sign that invites you to say "What Are You Thankful For". 

P.S I'm thankful for my health, home, kiddos, old dogs, family/friends, for the opportunity to pay forward for the times I was carried by the love of others. This, and about a thousand other things. I may just need a larger sign.

Gratitude, Gifts and Gravy

It is that time of year, holidays approaching, the end of the year on the horizon. The season shifts, our mood swings, expectations ramp up because of holiday mania. 

I'll break it down. For Thanksgiving all we really need to do is find one reason, or a million reasons if you can, to give thanks. It can be as simple as I have coffee in my cup. It could be I am thankful that I am not who and where I was 365 days ago, or ten days ago, or even yesterday. I am thankful for answered prayers. I am thankful for lessons learned and the events that pushed me to learn them. I am thankful for food on my table. It could be I am thankful I have enough food to share with others who are struggling. It could be I am thankful for a dear one recovering from illness. Perhaps it is the renewed decision that I choose life. Each and every day I choose life.

For Christmas the only gift we really need to give is that of our love, time, faith, encouragement, support. There is no supply chain shortage there. Anything else is gravy. And yes, I do love gravy, but gravy manifests in many ways.

There is also sadness, anxiety, a feeling of regret and grief that shadows this time of the year. We are not alone in this. You are not alone in this. Grief feels heavier during the holidays. Try as we might to ignore it, stuff it, forget it. It's there. The brightness of the holidays dim because of it.

It's okay to feel a little off during this season. To feel our losses deeper. It's okay if the holly isn't as jolly as it used to be. It's okay if this is my reality, maybe your's too. Own it, shed some light on it and trust the process. We have reasons to be grateful. We are a gift to others just as we are. Grief and all. P.S. Enjoy the gravy.