With no lengthy introduction needed: 21 things I’m grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day of 2021.
1. Our pediatrician, who is affirming and supportive of ME. (Hey, I see him six times a year at minimum, which is more than a lot of my friends. It adds up.)
2. Two sets of Jesus-loving parents/in-laws, so I need not fear an explosive holiday dinner (even if we don’t agree on politics).
3. The privilege of purchasing and preparing a gigantic meal, with no concern for the cost in money or time—and, the growing awareness of how much a privilege that truly is.
4. My husband, who is so, so gracious when I am so, so irritable.
5. All of my kids’ fine arts teachers, who handle our varying presentations of perfectionism with patience and care.
6. Facebook (yes, really), for the community I get in groups of like-minded people. (Note that “like-minded” does not mean we all agree all the time.)
7. Levi and Silas and their friendship, currently being forged stronger over the shared service of kitchen clean-up every night. Also, how frequently they choose to make music together.
8. Two of my children have shown a marked improvement in “recovery time” this year—that is, how long it takes them to calm down and regroup after a meltdown. It’s encouraging.
9. How much I continue to love homeschooling, 9 years in. More so when the children are hard. Definitely more so when the world is hard. Even when I feel like I’m losing my mind.
10. The 20 pounds I’ve lost this year. I was determined not to let it become the thing that ruled my life, and it didn’t. All the same, I’m glad to fit comfortably into clothes that feel like me (meaning, me when I’m not pregnant or immediately postpartum).
11. Books. So many books. Interesting books, heart-wrenching books, funny books. (More on that next month—I’ll post my book list for the year. Suffice to say I’m at over 150 read already.)
12. Our little church, faithful, simple, and true, and the unexpected growth we’ve seen this year.
13. I’ll go ahead and say it: the child tax credits, which we in our careful budgeting did not *need*, but which have allowed us to pursue extra opportunities for the kids and indulge in some things and experiences that would otherwise have been out of reach.
14. A karate studio just down the street, full of teachers who are kind and firm and are raising the standards my kids have for themselves.
15. The near-disappearance of perfectionism in my own mind. Turns out pursuing excellence and demanding perfection aren’t the same thing.
16. Daniel Tiger (ha), who has turned my daughter into my most socially-emotionally mature child. (Or maybe that’s just her being a girl?!)
17. Marriage in general, in all its many facets.
18. The church ladies who faithfully attend the Bible studies I have been so audacious as to lead, the many generations and all the wisdom they represent, and my own growth as a student and teacher of the Bible.
19. The three dear ladies I call “best friend,” collected over different years and different locations, and the technology that keeps us in contact today
20. I’ve only mentioned Isaac twice and that just doesn’t seem nearly enough. So here he is again.
21. The things of the Lord: the gift of faith, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the blessings of sacrament and community, the wonder of worship, the instruction of the Word, the beauty of creation, the assurance of sovereignty, the certainty of salvation.
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