I’m grateful for the chocolate pecan pies that just came out of the oven - and being able to call up my auntie for coaching on her mom (my grandma’s) pie crust recipe!
I realized this morning when I woke up with four (mostly) unscheduled days ahead of me that a Thanksgiving blog post has become a bit of a tradition for me. I’ve missed it some years, but many years in the past decade of living the little life I’ve been composing My Gratitude Short List, Offering Gratitudes, Giving Thanks for the Little Life, thinking about how most of my stuff is Just Stuff, or how to Unstuff Your Holidays, or just offering a simple Thanksgiving!
I’m grateful that our democracy still works and that I was able to cast my vote via absentee ballot.
I know for many people around the world this has been an extremely challenging year. The U.S. has experienced massive upheaval on many levels with catastrophic loss of life due to Covid-19, sky high levels of unemployment, economic uncertainty, and the perpetuation and exacerbation of the -isms and -phobias that have oppressed black people, indigenous people, people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, people who are Muslim, and/or women. I do not intend to diminish the heartache, the loss, or the unjustness of any of this. I know we have a lot of work ahead of us. And yet, I strongly believe that gratitude can be transformed into generosity and dedication to the wellbeing of our planet and its people. So let’s be grateful for what we can be and dedicated to creating more to be grateful for.
I’m grateful for all the snuggle time I’ve been getting with my sweetie Raffi since I started working from home in March
Here are just a few of the many, many things I'm thankful for today (in no particular order):
A FaceTime chat with my five sisters and their families, enabling us to “visit” each other in our kitchens (and even on the beach in case of my sister on Maui!)
Catching up with friends from my two Portland tiny house communities AND getting a no contact soup delivery today from my future community mates in Brattleboro
The friends who have kept me human during this strange year with game nights, zoom brunches, walks, bike rides, beers on the porch, cook outs, home projects, and my distanced popsicles in the park birthday party
The extremely warm welcome I’ve received here in Brattleboro (including the fascinating conversations I’ve already had about urban planning, historic walking tours, and schemes for a kitchen equipment library)
The cross country adventure that brought me and Raffi here, which helped me reconnect with old friends and inspired me to start blogging again
Working Remote(r) for Green Hammer as an assistant build project manager in addition to the work I’ve been doing as Operations Manager
Being such good pals with my former spouse, Isha, that The Lucky Penny is back at Going Places for the time being and another friend is getting to try out tiny living
Opportunities to teach (and learn) through Yestermorrow Design-Build School (next up is Tiny House Design Online - December 2020)
Hitting the 50K word mark a couple days ahead of schedule on my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, thanks in part to encouragement to keep writing from Prompt and Dear Grown Ass Women
My loved ones near and far who have continued to inspire me with their hunt for the silver linings and their commitment to making this world more kind, loving, welcoming, just, and sustainable.
I’m grateful that I’ve been catching the sunset most mornings recently and that there are so many people helping to point out the silver linings on the darker days.
Wishing everyone a very happy holiday with connections with people you love. How are you celebrating the day this year and what are you grateful for today?