Gratitude Month 2025: Shoes

I used to be a big shoe person, and I actually still am in my heart, but ever since a major car accident several years ago, I have not been able to wear most of my fun shoes. That accident in combination with all the repercussive injuries along with getting older has made it so that I probably will never be able to were them again. I gave away most of them a couple of years ago because I realized the fact. But that is just about fun shoes that are not really functional when you think of it, and I want to talk about how thankful I am for shoes that protect my feet and help my feet and help me feel comfortable, able, professional, and even on the rare occasion fashionable still. I know this all sounds downright elderly, but it is what it is, and I wish it weren't what it is, but wishing ain't getting, so I will be thankful for the blessing that helpful good shoes are. Too many people across the globe go without the shoes they need, and I have never had to do that, so I am simply grateful for having this specific need met. 

Gratitude Month 2025: Ribbon

It might sound frivolous (because it pretty much is), but I really love nice ribbon. I use it for wrapping presents, decorating around my house and even on my porch, and really in any way my creativity can make ribbon a thing. I especially love adding ribbons to my table settings for any occasion, but lately, I have been playing around with ideas for how to get ribbon to make some magic on my Christmas table. I already draped my light fixture above the dining table with three different types of ribbon, Christmas lights, and some sparkly snowflake decorations, so the idea might actually come to fruition on the table. I am crossing my fingers. So anyway, I am thankful for every time I find ribbon at the thrift store, on clearance, or in the hands of friends giving it away (which happened by bagfuls this summer). So thankful because it makes my life happier. 

Gratitude Month 2025: Hoodies

I do not remember when I started collecting them, but at least 15 years ago, I bought a purple hoodie from my university's bookstore, and I am pretty sure that is the one that turned having a hoodie on into a trip down memory lane. Now, every time I travel to a new place or attend a special occasion, I search out the best hoodie money can buy (that I like). I do not always find a purple or special enough to buy even though it is not purple hoodie, but when I do, I buy it and think of the time I spent at that place every single time I wear that hoodie. 

A few of my favorite hoodies include my 15-year-old, should probably be thrown away but I just cannot do it until I can replace it, purple BYU hoodie, a super soft purple Mount Vernon hoodie that is not holding up very well unfortunately, a navy blue classic York, England hoodie that I bought at the York Minster's gift shop and it makes me so happy to wear it that it is my second favorite only to the BYU one, and a cream and brown Boston hoodie that reminds me that even if you land yourself into a wheelchair on vacation, you can still find a great hoodie that makes you smile when you wear it. 

This hoodie habit is like time traveling back to the best of times, and it makes me happy. I am thankful for my not so on purpose tradition I have created of getting the softest, best, cutest, most comfortable, and most of the time purple hoodies, so I can keep my memory alive with the good memories I have the chance to make. 

Gratitude Month 2025: My Family

I am thankful for my family. I write about them every single year, and every single year, I am sure I need to keep expressing my gratitude for them. I have wonderful children who make me a better person as I strive to be a good mother to them. I have amazing brothers who make my life more interesting and dynamic and help me to be a better person too. I have so many cousins and aunts and uncles who help me understand what God wants of me. Family is true wealth. Family is everything. I love them all dearly. 

Gratitude Month 2025: Christmas Movies

This past week in my Creative Writing class, I was teaching students about climactic events and falling action, and my first thought for excellent examples of these two plot elements was from It's a Wonderful Life. I typically look for movie clips to show that are from books made into movies, but the pure desperation and stunning elation all within moments in the scene when George is begging God to restore his family to him then realizing God answered his prayer is storytelling perfection, so those two clips were what my students got. 

Can you believe there were some students who had never seen It's a Wonderful Life? I was dumbfounded yet tried to not show my shock, but the extra perfect thing about having some students who had never seen it was that they could very clearly see why I chose what I did. The poignant delivery of the story lines has much to do with Jimmy Stewart being a gifted actor, but the ability to reach people is in how close to home the moment hits for each person. Everyone has had moments like George, maybe not so extreme, but it is all still very human. And in those moments, we are reminded of how much we need God and Jesus Christ. 

As I was showing the end scene when the falling action tumbles down the plot outline with a swiftness, I could not help but get teary eyed at the lesson being taught. Yes, the falling action rushes at us with little time to let it all sink in, but is not that how life can get once we realize there are blessings all around us? I know it can be like that for me. So whether I am watching Christmas movie classics or the B film Christmas cookie cutter movies that are a dime a dozen as far as writing quality goes, you can always count on a rush of falling action into a beautiful, happy, sweet resolution to remind us that in the end everything will be alright because God wins which means we win. 

I am grateful for the Christmas movie genre with its simplicity and gentle reminders that joy is the resolution we are looking for, and it all points me to being thankful for God sending us the Christ Child, the reason for the season.