On Thanksgiving

I am thankful that the act of giving thanks helps me to loosen my grip on my self-pity and pride.

I am thankful for a store-bought turkey dinner enjoyed by Conners in pajamas during an internet-free weekend at the Kings' Inn at Lake Eufaula, Alabama. I am thankful for quality time spent with Charlie Brown, Andy Griffith, the Heck Family, and all the members of the Fellowship of the Ring.

I am thankful for the memory of Mama’s fried pork chops and pound cake. I am thankful that she taught me to love Jesus and my husband, to laugh loudly, and to not be a whiner.

I am thankful for bedtime giggles, back tickles, and plastic pink flamingos. 

I am thankful for chocolate. I am thankful for peanut butter. I am thankful for Reese's Cups. 

I am thankful for Amazing Grace—the gift and the song.

I am thankful for words like oxymoron, redundant, and onomatopoeia.

I am thankful for taxes and car payments and college expenses.

I am thankful for Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”

I am thankful for the smell of butterbeans cooking. I am thankful for the anticipation that the smell brings.

I am thankful that Chickfila makes yummy chicken noodle soup, which kept Emma fed through four jaw surgeries in four years. I am thankful for friends who share food whenever life is especially complicated.

I am thankful that Daddy said, “Lemme get my hat” whenever he was ready to go. I am thankful that he said, “I got a bone in my leg” when he didn’t want to get his hat.

I am thankful for priceless family heirloom jewelry.

I am thankful for "peaceful dwelling places, secure homes, and undisturbed places of rest." (Isaiah 32:18ish)

I am thankful for Johann Gutenberg. 

I am thankful for four healthy pancreases and one high-tech insulin pump.

I am thankful for Sunday Dinner with Beloveds. 

I am thankful for bunnies and yarn, drumsticks and Rubik’s Cubes, American Pickers and Doctor Who.

I am thankful that I like to go to church.

I am thankful for the smell of a sweet shrub. It reminds me of Little Granny. She always sang, "Oh it isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E," especially when you were having a little trouble.

I am thankful for a long ago romance at summer camp with a guitar picker.

I am thankful for routine. I am thankful for breaks in routine. I am thankful to get back into routine.

I am thankful for football. I don't care about the details of the game. I don't care about passes and punts and interceptions. I love the pageantry. I love the colors and the traditions, and I love the bands. I love good-natured rivalries and that people are passionate about their team. I guess I'm kinda like a vegetarian at Thanksgiving. I know that folks gathered for the turkey—and I'm glad they did, but I'll just have the fixin's.

I am thankful for those who escaped the fires—literally and figuratively. I am thankful that "When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." (Isaiah 43:2)

I am thankful for road trips. 

I am thankful for the intersection of Hwy 231 and Hwy 84 and the Circle that surrounds it.

I am thankful for black and white photos.

I am thankful for rhyme,
'Cause most of the time
A cheerful couplet will make me smile
For a while.

When my smile turns upside-down
Into a frown,
I remember my Ancient Friend
And smile again.

I am thankful for a son who spouts Words of Wisdom like, “Never call a woman fat to her face.”

I am thankful for small-town America, musical theater, and naps.

I am thankful for hot baths, warm flannel Mickey Mouse jammies, and cold chocolate milk. (That may look like three separate things, but it's not.)

I am thankful that "his compassions never fail. They are new every morning." (Lamentations 3:22-23) I am thankful that I get another chance today.

I am thankful that I had two babies at the same time.

I am thankful that I can count my daughters, my sisters, and my nieces as my girlfriends, too.

To quote Chuck’s Beloved Nana, "I can’t think of a thing that I’m not thankful for." (Well, except roachie-bugs. But I AM thankful for the funny/scary stories that Little Granny used to make up—when we were sleeping on the floor!—about the Monster and the Roachie-Bug. I think the Roachie-Bug was scarier than the Monster. Presently, I am thankful for the enthusiasm that Biscuit has about killing the wretched satanic spawn and the satisfaction she shows in herself when they stop kicking.)

I am thankful that I was taught gratitude as a child. It makes finding ways to give thanks as an adult much less difficult.