A la Fr. John and Annie

Annie Knits posted about her thanksgiving this weekend and it made me want to get this down before I forgot and it was Monday and life juggernauted on. She based it on the homily Fr. John gave on Thanksgiving morning in the midst of our meal-warming for the homebound (do we really cook, after all, or simply warm? Other people have done the cooking--we just cut and assemble and warm...). The basics: we should be thankful for all things. We should be thankful for getting stuck in traffic because it means we have a car; we should be thankful for the high heating bill because it means we were warm...and so forth. There is always a twist. And on my way home after getting Advent ready at church and slopping sweet potatoes into 120 foil pans, getting home smelling like an onion at noon and a baby needing to eat and nap (and we did both), I started to think about what I'm thankful for from that point of view. I came up with a few.

I'm thankful for the demands my children place upon me because it means not only that I've been lucky enough to become a mother, but also that they need me.

I'm thankful for a sink full of dirty dishes because it means we put food on the table another day.

I'm thankful those long evenings when Mike works late because it means he's on the clock.

I'm thankful for the 25 minute drive to dance class because it means we have the means to participate, that my daughters have the interest to continue, and that my children are having fun and getting good exercise.

I'm thankful for the argument about politics around the table on Thanksgiving afternoon because it means we live in a nation where argument is possible.

I'm thankful for the baby weight I'm carrying around because it means so many things--I didn't die in childbirth, I'm not living in a war-torn starvation zone, I brought three lovely children to the light.

I'm thankful for my curly hair. Maybe if I say it enough I'll finally be so.

I'm thankful for this busy season because it means I have people around me I want to busy for and with.

I'm thankful for the woman at church who makes me absolutely crazy because it means I'm part of a community I care deeply for. This one I say through mentally clenched teeth. But it's true. If I didn't care about my parish, she wouldn't bug me.

Sometimes I'm amazed how much of my life begins and ends at Pius these days. I've decided I can't hesitate in that anymore. I can't worry about if (when) this ends. I have to be here now and be grateful.

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!