On our bulletin board at work, there’s a Thankful Turkey. He’s
colorful and bright and has two rows of feathers making up his tail. Each
feather has something written on it. The first row has a name of each person in
our office and why we’re thankful for that person. The second row is made up of
feathers that represent why each person is thankful to work there.
Really, he’s just a piece of clipart that was printed out and
pinned to the board. Really, it is just simple words that are written on his
fanned out tail. Yet, really, the Thankful Turkey is a whole lot more. He’s a
reminder, a lot like the holiday he represents, to stop and remember why we
care, why we love each other, why we’re so blessed.
For the entire month of November, my Facebook page has blown up
with updates from friends and family of reasons why they’re thankful. Thankful
for family. Thankful for friends. Thankful for the simple things. ‘Tis the
season to be thankful, no doubt, and it warms your heart to see so many people
counting their blessings.
I didn’t participate in the 30 days of thankful on Facebook, and
the Thankful Turkey at work barely skimmed the surface of my gratitude, so I
wanted to share a few of the things I’m thankful for this year with you, my
readers.
Now, I could easily do the standards. I’m obviously thankful for
my amazing parents, my loving husband, my wonderful sister, and darling nephew.
I’m thankful for my extended family, for my cats, for having a job and a roof
over my head.
But I’m also thankful for the details.
I’m thankful for waking up to warm blankets on cold mornings.
I’m thankful for long, deep-into-the-night, philosophical discussions with my
husband. I’m thankful for friends who are diverse and different and who bring
new opinions and experiences into my life.
I’m thankful for the experience of walking on the beach in
November and watching the sun set over the waves and for the sight of a Magic
Kingdom stretching towards an impossibly blue sky.
I’m thankful for the memories of grandparents now gone and for the
stories and hugs shared by the one still here. I’m thankful for the sticky
kisses of a three-year-old nephew who lights up the world of everyone he meets.
I’m thankful for the taste and warmth of potato soup in the
winter and the chills of ice cream in the summer. I’m thankful to be Southern
and to know my history and to know that I live in one of the friendliest places
on the planet.
I’m thankful for the words that flow easily from my fingertips
and for the ones that stick and keep me up at night. I’m thankful for the
storytellers who came before me and who made me love to weave a tale and to
pour my heart out on paper.
I’m thankful for spending four fun and sometimes difficult
years in the English Department at the University of West Georgia. I’m thankful
for the lessons learned there and at Bremen High School and in the school of
life. I’m thankful for the student loans that will allow my husband to earn his
degree within a few short years.
I'm thankful for hard-earned experience and for an amazing team of coworkers for the last four years. I’m thankful for new beginnings and the new journey I will embark on starting December 3rd. I'm thankful for unanswered prayers and for opportunities that you don't always see coming.
I'm thankful for so much, for the little things and for the big things that fill my heart.
Happy Thanksgiving from Chicken Noodle Gravy!
