Thankful For The Little Things
Nov 23, 2017
So, I write this Thanksgiving 2017, from my kitchen table... still suffering the TMI remnants of a horrible stomach bug that has quickly made it's way through the entire Galbraith family (save Leon who is on constant toast-making and water-fetching duties). We are watching back-to-back movies and I am trying to catch up with some work, as 3 days off right after an event wasn't the best timing - so this probably won't be a long post.
As I headed off to bed last night, I thought to myself, tomorrow I will be thankful just for not vomiting!! And then it kinda struck me: that's it. I need to be grateful for the little things. The things I frequently take for granted. The stuff I tend to brush over.
How often do I give thanks just for being well? Just for being ALIVE?
How often do I say a simple thank you for a warm hug from babe or the kids, for a kind word from a friend?
I had really got myself in a mess about this (cue fireworks and trumpets >>) FIRST EVER THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA!!!!!! MAKE IT COUNT!!!!!!! MAKE IT SPECIAL!!!!!! MAKE IT MEMORABLE!!!!!!
But something else was at work. Someone trying to show me what it was really about.
I shuffled around Whole Foods last night to get some Mom's Chicken Soup (is there a more comforting food when you're sick?) and then picked up a small chicken and plain veg for our Thanksgiving meal... I picked up an apple pie, really a token purchase as I'm not sure we'll manage to eat it, and laid to rest the idea of the 3 different pies we were going to bake (with whipped cream, ice cream AND custard).
It was clear to me at that moment, I had it all twisted, and this was the perfect way to show me... stubborn old me.
I had to get sick, I literally had to be UNABLE to pull off the fantasy Thanksgiving feast in order to learn the lesson.
Who is it that said that your life's curriculum is whatever is right in front of you at this very moment? Well, what I need to be thinking about this Thanksgiving, what I need to give thanks for, are the simple things - because really, they are the big things, the things that truly matter. I just had it all topsy-turvy.
Thankful for my God, my family, the simple food on the table, the roof over my head. Thankful. So very thankful.
(And if we do pick at that apple pie later, it will be the most appreciated half-eaten pie ever!)
Happy Thanksgiving.
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