Being Grateful - Nov 15th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 15th:

I had a delightful time this weekend baking delicious treats with a very good friend. We made soft chocolate-chip cookies, homemade bread, big cream puffs, sweet apple pie, and a peach-apricot tart… and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! 

Everything was made from scratch (not kidding!) and every recipe called for one main ingredient—flour. I grind my own wheat ahead of time and keep the flour in jars for ready use. Wheat flour is a good source of iron, thiamine, niacin, calcium, and vitamin B6, in addition to several vitamins and minerals. It is “the staff of life” and certainly stores well because it lasts FOREVER! Well, for many, many, many years anyway. 

Today I am grateful for the nutritional value of wheat and for flour that is a key ingredient in so many foods we eat (including the delicious waffles I made this morning!)

 

 November 16th

Being Grateful - Nov 14th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 14th:

“Why do you think the sky is so blue?”

“Google it, Mom.”

“What is the rule for semicolon use?”

“Google it, Mom.”

“What was that funny quote Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It?”

“Just Google it, Mom!”

It took a long time for my mind to accept that Googling is a legitimate tool for information gathering. My boys use it religiously to research material for schoolwork, but when I was in school, information gathering meant a trip to the library or questioning someone who might know. 

It is mind-boggling to me that nearly anything you want to know today is available online. It is even more mind-boggling to see how many lesson videos are posted, starring pros ready to teach us nearly anything we want to learn. Want to play the guitar? The piano? The drums? Choose from numerous music lessons online. Want to learn how to check the oil in your car? Google it! Want to solve the equation 2+49/7(45-3) = (X/2)+17 and actually get the right answer? Google it! (This is why my kids got their homework done so fast. Hmmm.) 

My point is this: there has never been a time in human history when information and education were so easily and readily available to people all over the world. I am immensely grateful I have access to it. And yes, I use it all the time. (Yes, sometimes just to Google my name, but hey.)

 

 November 15th

Being Grateful - Nov 13th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 13th:

Imagine what the world would be like without paper. No notebooks on which to write, cardstock on which to print photographs, newspaper on which to print daily news. Nothing from which to make dollar bills or publish books or make paper planes. Sure, we can do these things digitally today… all except for making a paper plane… but there is something satisfying about tangible contact with paper products versus virtual, digital experiences. 

I love the feel of paper in my hands: the smoothness of glossy photos, the sensation of flipping pages, the heaviness of big books. My fingers find satisfaction brushing over embossed décor on Christmas cards and rubbing brand new dollar bills between my fingers. I like writing with pen on paper. I like receiving Thank You cards in the mail. I enjoy amazing origami created from the detailed art of folding paper. 

Paper is a versatile blessing that affords many tactile experiences for which I am thankful. Yes, including toilet paper. 2020 surely made us thankful for toilet paper—there is no digital substitute for it!

 

 November 14th

Being Grateful - Nov 12th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 12th:

This morning I was mentally reviewing the long list of things I hoped to get done today (Why, oh why is there never enough time?) when it occurred to me that I am very thankful for a healthy brain that collects and stores a vast amount of information. It is a blessing to have functioning brain cells! 

The miracle is that our brains act much like computers, taking in information, storing it, and then retrieving it at some later date. Have you ever stopped to consider how many facts you recall in a single day? How many memories pop up from the past? How many items you can recall without a shopping list? True, our brains don’t function at 100%, but it is still amazing how various memories resurface at the slightest trigger. 

A song brings up images of my high school prom. A phrase sends me back to a bitter divorce. A smell takes me to the bakery where I decorated cakes while working my way through college. A bowling alley makes me smile recalling my first kiss. Happy memories bring joy. Unhappy ones are lessons learned. All of them make for life experiences that shape who we are—that are shaping who I am. Thank goodness for a brain that stores both short-term and long-term memories.

 November 13th

Being Grateful - Nov 11th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 11th:

I am grateful for the ability to choose. It is Veteran’s Day, a day to thank those who served to protect our country and our valuable freedoms… like the right to choose. 

Yes, I can hardly imagine how awful it would be to lose the right to make choices about my own life, things like what occupation to pursue, which religion to practice, what I believe or don't believe, whether to speak out or remain silent, how I want to live my life and so forth. Making choices is a precious blessing that I try not to take for granted, yet it is easy to think it will never be taken away. 

I know how dangerous it is to neglect appreciation for our rights and liberties, for the choices we are granted. I am thankful for them. And I am forever thankful for those who have fought to protect our right to choose.

 November 12th

Being Grateful - Nov 10th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 10th:

Today at work I was receiving packages, and I paused to admire a very sturdy, square box. The cardboard was thicker and more durable than typical shipping boxes, which enabled it to travel well across the states… unlike a great many thinner cardboard boxes that arrive banged and dented each week. I was contemplating snagging this impressive box for home use (It would be perfect for storing the ridiculous number of extension cords I own) when the thought crossed my mind that boxes are a really nice thing to have around. 

It’s hard to imagine a room without a box because there are so many uses for them. Along with shipping and freight boxes, there are storage boxes that pile up neatly in closets, sheds, and on shelves. Decorate a few boxes with ribbon and glitter to create beautiful gift packaging. Give bigger boxes to imaginative youngsters and watch how they invent forts, castles, cars, boats, and all sorts of other fun. Cats love to hide inside them. Dogs love to sleep in them. Throw some soil and seeds in a few small boxes and they become planters. Use boxes for moving, for keeping organized, for crafting… these wonderful cardboard rectangles have so many uses! 

I will admit I take them for granted (I bet you do too) but I am very thankful for the variety of boxes I utilize daily.

 November 11th

Being Grateful - Nov 9th

 

This November, I have taken on the challenge of pondering blessings that I commonly overlook. Things I would certainly miss if they were gone, yet scarcely give much thought. My goal is to share daily one typically-ignored blessing for which I am truly thankful.



Nov. 9th:

It’s getting colder outside. Today the sky was grey, threatening snow, which got me thinking about the need for snow tires… which got me dreading the possibility of ice on the roads soon… which naturally (or not) got me to thinking about friction. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am really grateful for friction.

 

Whether you appreciate it or not, there are great advantages to friction. It enables the wheels of my car to move forward and not slip on the road. It enables me to walk for the same reason. Friction makes the brakes work so my car comes to a stop—you ought to be thankful for that! Friction allows me to stack my books high (books I intend to read someday) and keeps them from easily slipping off the pile. Friction allows me to write my notes on a piece of paper before typing up the final draft.

 

If you think about it, there are a lot of benefits to friction: it generates heat, burns up asteroids in the atmosphere, slows down runaway carts, etc. The world would be a different place without it, that’s for sure. I am indeed grateful for the benefits of friction.

 November 10th