So many things to be thankful for, not least of which is getting a moment to post again on my blog! Geez! It's already been a month!
Usually, we spend Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle, who are kind of like parents to me, and are definitely grandparents to my kids. We have spent all but a few Thanksgiving's together for about 20 years now. But this year, I felt excited to host Thanksgiving in my own home for the first time, so we stayed home and invited people over. We had a very nice gathering with Drew's mom, as well as several community members we love. We all had a great time.
I definitely feel so grateful for the space of this house that I can host such a party with such ease! I'm grateful for my family, and the safe passage into life of our newest member, Gardner, who daily reminds me to be patient and unconditionally loving. I am so grateful for my husband, Drew, who I am so proud of for his deep training in and commitment to Aikido, the Art of Peace, which indelibly shapes who he is. I am thankful for my daughter Ella, who's strength of spirit and boundless energy remind me to live a little bit more each day. I'm thankful for the rest of my family, for knowing they are near me energetically, and that they love and support me, even if they are far away.
I'm thankful for our community here, for all it's quirks and all its ordinary and extra-ordinary grandeur. I'm thankful for helpful and loving neighbors, for like-minded families that raise kids together, for unsurpassable natural beauty all around us, for abundance of soil and rain and homegrown food, for the salmon that still return, and for our comfortable house.
I'm thankful for my health and for the continuous opportunity to grow in my understanding of myself.
May we always enjoy such abundance of things to be thankful for, and accept them with grace...
