The translation of this photo is:
Life is full of little pleasures
The kick that brought me to sharing all 15 in one post for you, my friend, was when I read that someone was having a hard time coming up with three things a day. That astounded me! I swear, I think of three things I'm grateful for before I even get out of bed...my comfy bed being one of them.
If you've been reading the Chronicles for a few years, you'll ALSO know that gratitude lists in November (especially), drive me nuts. I mean, if one isn't aware every day ALL YEAR LONG, one month of looking for the stuff isn't really all that meaningful. To me, that is. Inversely, I'm also bugged by people who are thankful (for example) for a roach in their house because it means they have something good enough for a roach to want. Please. Don't go there. Just don't.
I'm fulfilling the challenge (all 15 in one sitting, though) in September for my friend, so she won't think that I completely ignored it. If any of you feel compelled to come back here in November as a seasonal reminder, you'll be welcome. It'll be hot tea on the deck in our Muck boots and Carhartts. Under quilts. But we'll be thankful, darn it!
*Note before I begin: I'm not going to list my family and friends, here. For some reason, I think it should be sort of an "understood" gratitude...if I started listing each one, it would take longer than anyone would care to read. Yes, I'm THAT blessed with loved ones! So, don't have hurty feelings if I didn't list you on my list of gratitude; you're not insignificant or taken for granted!
1. I'm grateful someone taught me to read. Quite a few "someone"s actually contributed to this blessing. I don't remember ever NOT being able to read. It's a huge gift to give a human being, and I never, ever forget this.
2. Clean sheets. (Do you ever slide between them and not think "thank you, thank you, thank you..."?)
3. Team sports. Now, wait...hear me out on this one! I'm not talking about the hype over the athletes and all that nonsense, I'm talking about the sports themselves. Sometimes when my world has been crazy, hard, hurtful, incomprehensible, it's a comfort to me to be able to turn on football for example and see 11 men trying to move a little leather ball 10 yards in 4 tries. (I know. When it's written like that, it's almost laughable that we DO watch it.) It's soothing to know the rules, know that everyone has a clear purpose, know everyone is working toward a common goal for 60 minutes.
4. Jimmy Buffett. I think I listen to at least one of his songs every day.
5. A good, reliable hot water heater...I think of this every shower and breathe a little prayer of gratitude.
6. Home grown, ripe tomatoes. You can sort of "fake" the flavor of other fruits and vegetables, but there's no way to even come close to the pure, delightful juicy goodness of a slightly warm tomato, freshly plucked from the vine.
7. While we're on the food topic, I'm grateful I can just pick up a gallon of milk for the family. I don't have to feed the cow, milk her twice a day, strain the milk, separate the cream from the rest of it. Having good fresh milk is a lot of stinkin' work done that way. I love that there are dairies that do it for me.
8. Calvin and Hobbes. I'm telling you, I can pick up a C & H book any time of any day and find something that I can relate to and laugh about! Sometimes I'm Calvin, sometimes I'm raising him, but always it hits close to home and makes me smile. My Gramps used to clip his cartoons from the paper and send them to me in college, so Watterson's wit goes way back for me.
9. Air conditioning in cars and my house...pure luxury on the prairie.
10. The ability to run....legs and the means to use them. I think about this a lot, actually. At one point in my life, the idea of running was akin to working in a fertilizer plant: I could do it, but I'd rather die. When did we lose the sheer joy of going as fast as we can, like a child who can't help herself? I can still run...it hurts and the ground shakes as I pass, but I can still run. I'm so thankful for that.
11. My dog. I'm not exaggerating when I say that more than once Molly saved my life, and Tessie is proving to be the same sort of companion.
12. The six translations of the Bible that I have in my home. This is richness, folks. If I don't understand one translation, I go find another and lay it out on the table side by side with the first, and try to make sense of it. I know there are those who don't even have one copy of any translation, and I'm aware of how rare and special it is to have them at home.
13. Coffee. It's predictable and boring on a gratitude list. Whatever. I'm thankful for it every day.
14. Big Spring Water. Or as we used to call it as we were filling the 5 gallon jugs from Grandma Mosby's hose as kids, "Lewistown water". Water in Garfield County is drinkable in a few locations, but for the most part, it's pretty darn stinky and unpalatable...and a lot of it will flat make you sick with stomach cramps and diarrhea. So grateful for the availability of clean, yummy water to bring home!
15. Cameras and photographs. I frame everything up in my head as though it was being photographed, anyway. I always have, even from when I was a little girl, although I didn't know then that that was what I was doing. It's a precious thing to be able to freeze a moment and share it with others, almost magical when you really think about it. There's a connectedness between generations and cultures through photos...common stories and experiences that most all humans can relate to.
There you go.
I don't know about you, but I'm out of tea and attention span! I won't tag anyone, but feel completely free to add your thoughts and lists in the comments of this post. Or run with it on your own blog.
2 comments:
Love your list, Mary. Thank you for playing along.
This is such a wonderful happy read.
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