thankful for you

 Day 30. The Final Day. 

I am thankful for being able to do this challenge. It was not easy for me to remember to write each time, but it all worked out with a little time management here and there. I am thankful for anyone and everyone who took time to read my short ramblings of gratitude, and I hope at least a couple of the days got you thinking about your blessings too. 

Something went wrong with my brain that it keeps me from being able to write like I used to, and I definitely have to work at it when things used to come to me much more easily. Yet I will say that it helps me to even do a little writing here and there. It helps me to find clarity and focus when I am stressed or anxious with the daily demands on my time. 

My heart is thankful for this blog even if it falls silent at times. It holds memories and feelings. It has been a type of friend for me these past almost eleven years. 

I can't promise I will write more often, but I will promise that I want to try. 

Thank you for stopping by and being part of my journey. 

teaching teenagers

 Day 29. 

I'm thankful for my job. I love teaching teenagers and helping them on their last leg of childhood. I get to reach out to the one and lift where I stand every single day that I go to work. It feels like a real gift most days to get to do what I love in ways that are creative and hopefully inspiring. 

When students graduate, my big hope is that they will know I truly care about their success like I do my own children. 

As first semester is closing soon, I can't help but be hopeful for the next semester, to see their progress and successes. 

sundays

 

Day 28. 

I was raised in a house that stayed home on Sundays. We did family gatherings or just stayed home together doing basically nothing. And when I was a child, I didn't understand the gift that God gives us by commanding us to keep the Sabbath Day holy. But as an adult who has turned life around and is facing the Lord as often as possible, striving to do right by others and become a joyful human being, I have seen the light on this staying home and serving others thing that Sunday provides. 

I love going to church now and making friends and working toward a happier life. It gives me such peace and contentment when I allow it all to sink in. 

The sabbath is a delight to me, and I hope that I never lose sight of how precious it is to take that day of rest each week. 

good food

 Day 27. 

I am going to go ultra basic here: I am grateful for food. Food sustains life, and I have access to some of the best food available each day. I have fresh food in a giant refrigerator. I have staple items in my cupboards. I have so much food that is good to eat that I sometimes feel guilty for a second. I do not have many luxuries, but I am exceedingly thankful that I always have good, fresh food to feed myself and my family. 

love

 Day 26. 

Love is a difficult thing for me to face with where I am in life and have been for a long time now. But I don't want another day to die before I acknowledge how love keeps me going, how I am thankful for all the love I have experienced in my life. 

I try to keep my focus on my children and brothers and their families. I try to focus on my extended family and friends. I focus this love on people who need my help. But sometimes, like now, I have to face the lack of love that is also real. I am thankful for it all. It hurts to see that no one wants to share my life with me, but it allows me to have time to love myself and refine myself. 

I am thankful for each day that I am the boss of me and mine, that I can keep watching for someone who will truly care for me, and that, no matter who loves me or doesn't, God loves me. 

people who care

Day 25. 

I am thankful for…

People who help others. 

People who sacrifice for the good of the whole. 

People who reach out and keep on reaching out until everything works out. 

People who love even when they don't get love in return. 

People who work hard. 

People who do a little (or a lot) more than what is expected. 

People who say sorry. 

People who take time out for the one. 

People who believe in God. 

People who act like it. 

People who forgive. 

People who share. 

People who genuinely care. 

glasses

 

Day 24. 

I hate admitting this, but I actually need need my glasses now. I had the best vision ever, and now not so much. I also hate admitting that I forget to put my glasses on way more often than someone who need needs them should. I feel like a second grader when I think of my glasses. I touch them all the time, which gets them dirty. I misplace them. I forget to put them on. It is ridiculous. But I truly am thankful for having them since they make all the difference in my ability to read, write, drive, watch movies, do family history work, and do pretty much anything that demands eyesight. Glasses are a real blessing when you don't have excellent eyesight. And some glasses are actually cute to wear! An accessory of necessity! 

memories

 

Day 23. 

They are funny things, memories. They come and go. They get made and get forgotten. They pop into our minds when we are doing something else, and all of a sudden, we are transported to another time and oftentimes another place. 

I was sent a memory of my dad that was not my memory but one that belongs to a cousin who is like a brother to me. This memory touched my heart and made me think about all the memories that are mine that match with his about my dad and how he really took time to teach life lessons. My dad wasn't a profound speaker (he actually taught us all his very bad swearing problem too), but he was good at finding those moments that children need to learn in to become good people. 

I am thankful for people sharing memories that lead to my memories coming to the forefront of my heart, and I hope you might find a memory or two to be thankful for right now as well. 

my family

 Day 22. 

As my children are all growing up and going about their lives, I think about the days when they were all little and how I would cook and clean and set about the work of teaching and entertaining them. I think about all the fun we had. And I think on the hard times too and hope those will all be forgiven and maybe even forgotten somehow. I then let those sad thoughts go and think about where we are now and how despite all the hard times then and lingering still, my children and I love to spend time together. Every time we can talk on the phone or eat a dinner together, my wish that the good will outweigh the bad seems to be coming true. I just want to have a good life where we all feel thankful for each other, and I am thankful for each of my precious children who look to me to help and guide them. I am blessed beyond measure by the love they give to me. Their love and forgiveness and teachability and leadership in our family make my life good. 

the book of mormon

 

Day 21. 

Three months ago now, I was challenged to read the Book of Mormon each day. It didn't matter how many verses of scripture or for how many minutes—just to be sure to read it every day in a row without stopping the habit. And I have been doing just that. There have been a couple of days here and there that I forgot, but then I got right back to reading and making sure I do my reading, and it has been uplifting and enlightening to my soul. 

The timing on certain passages has been truly inspired as it helps me with something very specific to the day or week quite often. And my faith is strengthened and my hope is enlarged. My compassion for the human condition has grown. 

Reading the Book of Mormon each day has changed my heart. 

Christmas lights

 

Day 20. 

I've been chipping away at decorating for Christmas for the past couple of weeks, and I got the Christmas tree up first with the help of my two youngest children still at home. Then I began working out where all the little strands of battery operated lights would go around the dining area and living room for our various Christmas decor displays. The balcony lights got done last week, so that has been nice to look upon each night since then. And the elves began working on the children's bathroom Christmas transformation last night. And it is all so lighthearted and lovely. I really need some lightheartedness right now. My entire existence just feels so heavy lately, and I can hardly bear it each day. And these bits of shininess around my home help lift my spirits. I am literally sitting here in the half lit room at the table looking over at my Christmas tree all aglow and beaming with gratitude for its simple loveliness. 

microwaves

 

Day 19. 

It might sound a tad ghetto to write about being grateful for my microwave oven, but I do not even care. That thing saves me when I am in a pinch and my children need a decent meal. I get out some leftover roast beef or a frozen meal from the freezer, throw that food into the microwave, and magically have something good to eat for us. Even when my children were all younger and I worked in the home, the microwave was such a handy tool for warming foods up.

I remember when my family growing up got our first microwave. I was in fourth or fifth grade, and it was truly miraculous to have food cook/reheat in such speedy ways, and you didn't have to stand there and mess with anything. It all just turned into hot, edible food. 

I got to thinking about all this because of my oldest daughters birthday gift from one of my cousins. Microwave cooking containers that turn ramen or macaroni and cheese into edible food without watching a pot or anything boiling over. I am taken right back to elementary school and watching through the window in awe. 

Miraculous. 

so much good

 

Day 18. 

I have been spending time each day reading other gratitude posts, and I am thankful today for what others are thankful for. That might sound strange, but it is true.

When I have been considering what others have chosen to write about, I ponder my own perspective on what they are speaking on, and I find more gratitude to hold in my overflowing arms. There is so much around us that is good and helpful and glorious that we only need to slow down and take notice. 

It almost doesn't seem possible to have such abundance of good when life is getting increasingly difficult and complicated and sometimes terrifying. But there truly is so much all around us. So when life gets disheartening or even terrible, slow down and look for the good to be grateful for. 

fresh water

 

Day 17. 

Fresh water is something that I write about or at least think about every single year as I ponder what I am grateful for. I would say it is old news, but the fact that not all people enjoy clean, running water out of several sources in their homes makes it exceptional and noteworthy. 

I am thankful each day that I can care for my family because we have fresh water. We cook, clean, and keep our bodies healthy inside and out because of the fresh water we have access to. I do not know how we would function with the things we have on our plate without such a blessing. 

I hope today we can all stop to cherish this resource. 

writing

 Day 16. 

I haven't been showing it much lately, but I am truly grateful for my love of writing. I don't know how I will get my fire back or if I ever will, but that doesn't change the fact that I love writing. My writing, teaching writing, enjoying others' writing, and you get my drift. I even love crafts and artwork with writing on them. I am getting ready to do a whole word wall in my classroom from canvas art and other wall plaques with inspiring sayings on them. I want to surround myself with writing! I just love it so much. 

helpers

 

Day 15. 

My gratitude runs deep for all of the people who help me each day. I have been trying to me mindful of each time I receive help or support from others, and I have such an amazing community around me, near and far. 

People send me quick messages to check on how we are doing. I have church friends who are helping me with driving one of my children on days the normal carpool can't help. I have a carpool in which I do not ever help drive because they are going out of their way to help me and my family. There are people who just know me and know when I am not okay, and even though they cannot make me okay, just knowing that they feel me and see where I am helps me. People reach out to serve my family in unique ways that I could never think to ask for. Strangers help us even. 

I rarely feel the sting of my reality because so many people are reaching out and helping and serving and loving us. 

repentance

 Day 14. 

I got asked to be a Sunday School teacher at church, and I am feeling deeply grateful to my past self for learning how to want to be good and strive for righteousness, so I could be in a place where I believe I can serve in this way. I am no scriptorian, nor am I perfect, but I do want to learn and grow in the gospel, and I am so excited for the chance I will have now to dig into the scriptures and share the gospel with others and learn from them in this unique way. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Christ's atonement makes my life that I enjoy possible. I am thankful for every good gift I receive despite my mortally flawed self. I look forward to this new chance to grow more spiritually. 

Saturdays

 Day 13. 

Writing about gratitude for Saturdays on a Saturday is about as meta as a person can get, but here we are. I am thankful for Saturdays. I am most thankful for Saturdays when I stay home and take care of my home and family instead of being pushed to and fro—even though I do love going places, I promise. There is just something extremely satisfying in slowing down and taking care of business and creating free time in the process. It feels right. It helps my soul heal from all the stress and trauma that is running in the background most of the time. I am thankful for this Saturday with nothing planned, so I can plan to be surprised by what it holds. 

children's books and more

 

Day 12. 

In my Creative Writing class that I'm teaching this school year, I have been able to integrate children's picture books into a few of my lessons, and I have to tell you how magical it is when you see teenagers connecting with something you love and think is brilliant when they very possibly could find it babyish and lame. I am so thankful for the inspiration that I find in children's books for my class, and I am thankful for such receptive and engaged students. It has been such a joy so far this school year to wok with these fun young people and to watch how they embrace and even run with the things I offer them to learn from. So rewarding! 

freedom

 

Day 11. 

Being an American is one of the things I am thankful for the most on any given day, yet on Veterans Day, I feel the gratitude even more so. I have a long line of family members and ancestors who have fought in our wars from the very inception of this country, and I see their sacrifice in my blessings of freedom that I enjoy today. 

Today, I give thanks for the freedom granted to me by God and upheld by the U.S. Constitution and members of the United States Armed Forces past and present who have fought to secure our freedom. 

God bless them all, and may God bless America. 

sweet potatoes

 

Day 10. 

Sweet potatoes. I am grateful for sweet potatoes. It is a simple thing, but I am telling you they are so good that I feel like they need some praise. Baked sweet potatoes have been something I am loving lately, and sweet potato fries put all other fries to shame if you ask me. 

I wonder if I'm just hungry while I am typing this, yet I stand by my words. Sweet potatoes are grand goodness, and I am thankful that they are a thing. 

quick blips

 

Day 9. 

Today, I am thankful for the momentary acquaintances that I have made along the way in my life. We don't often think about the hundreds and even thousands of people we run into in the course of our days, weeks, and years who do not reach official friend status, but they still were really great in some small way for a small period of time, maybe even just for a moment. 

Think about the people who give you a smile on a bad day or the people who help you pick up a ton of stuff you just dropped in the middle of a store. Think about the people you have a quick but uplifting moment of understanding while waiting in a long and terrible line. There are real bonding moments in these quick blips across the page of our stories, yet we never give these people a face or name in the characters list. But they are still so valuable to our existence.

My gratitude is full for all the momentary people who reach out and make my life better. And I truly hope I am this type of bright spot for others as well. 

aunts

 

Day 8. 

Aunts are something special. I have been blessed with so many loving and supportive aunts on both sides of my family. I look to them for my example of how to be a good aunt myself. 

And that's another thing: I am so thankful for being an aunt. I find such joy in thinking about my nieces and nephews and watching for opportunities to help them know they are loved. 

Being an aunt feels like a calling in life. And I love it and the women who are called to love and care about me. 

my children

 

Day Seven. 

My children simply existing brings gratitude to my life, yet the fact that each of my children add something unique to my life makes exceedingly thankful. 

I learn from them every day. From their good examples to the things I have to learn to help them, I learn every single day. They push me to keep growing and becoming more of who I am meant to be. What amazing gifts they are to my life. 

 

good food

 

Day Six. 

Food. Plentiful and fresh. My dad taught me to be thankful for this.

He would share stories about having no food to eat when he was young. He had nothing or saltines and tomato soup a lot of the time. He taught me to be thankful and remember that food does not come easy to all. 

I think about my dad and how important it was to him to keep our home filled with food, and it drives me to keep my home filled with food too. I want to do all I can to be prepared for my family's needs. 

Today, I am thankful for being taught to be grateful for the food I have. 

work is a blessing

 Day Five. 

I am thankful for my work. My mom job, my teaching job, my editing work, my writing work, my spiritual work. All of it. 

Being needed and helpful and able to make a difference is so rewarding. It can be taxing at times too, I will admit, but it is most often a source of joy for me. I love helping and teaching and making life better around me. And the vehicle to reach that joy is work. 

I wish I had help with all that faces me, yet there is some delicious satisfaction when all works out well because of my own tenacity and God's help. I know I can make a difference because I am put in a position to have to do it alone and make it happen so often. 

Blessings are in everything if you take time to look, and I am feeling blessed with so many kinds of work to do. 

the reminders

 Day Four. 

Gratitude is something that comes and goes with reminders of all types. 

Today, I am thankful for the reminders to appreciate the small things and big things and all of the in-between things. 

I don't always feel thankful for some reminders because they are not always pleasant, but I will say that in the end I come around to recognize that even the bad and sad things can help lift us if we watch for the reminders to be thankful. 

I am thankful for the quiet I needed (and got), even though it was a hard place to be in, so I could be reminded to write today. 

I hope you get what reminders you need, so you can keep your gratitude well filled to overflowing.

thankful for light

 

Day Three. 

Light. Natural and electric. Both make life better. They make life and comfort possible. 

I am thankful for the beauty that natural light brings to the world. I am thankful for the opportunities it brings to us all. Growing plants in summer and warming our bodies in winter. 

I am thankful for electricity that makes lights my home once the sun goes down, so we can function past daylight hours. We would have such a different life without the electric lights that keep our neighborhood lit and the stores open into later hours of the night. 

Light seems so simple a thing, but it brings so much to the table that it would be remiss to not mention it. 

sundown in texas

 

Sundown in Texas reminds me of a man. 

I can't say I knew him very well—however 

What I did know, I loved. 

I knew him as a quiet cowboy who could

Cook and clean up and fix a roof 

Among many other everyday and hard work things

He worked and loved and gave of himself.

And he even could fix a few hearts. 

Maybe, most likely, he fixed 

Quite a few more than a few. 

I'd say he fixed more than we can count

With his quiet love and care,

With his gentle heart and helpful way. 

Giving what he had with his two hands,

Making smiles out of nearly nothing, 

Scraps of wood and a pinch of pure kindness

That looked like pecan fudge and fried chicken.

Our quiet cowboy gave his bright, big, shining heart 

And we will love him forever 

Remembering him in every Texas sundown. 

For Bosco. 

And for Onabeth, Casey, and Trevor. 

autumn leaves

 

Day Two. 

I look around me and see all the crunching leaves covering the walkways and grass and want to hold onto autumn time for longer than it will last. I am thankful for the moments I had the other day when burgundy leaves were falling gently like rain but softer, slower, and with more grace. I am thankful for the beauty that continues to surprise me in this harsh world. So thankful for the leaves that turn so lovely just before they die. 

an opening letter of gratitude

 

Day One. 

Feeling thankful for time enough to stop and remember that I am a writer even if I rarely write. 

I took a day to breathe instead of run, run, run. And I am thankful to have this day, right now. 

I am thankful for having an audience still despite my long absences of content creating. It means so much that even anyone might still be reading. 

Gratitude will fill my mind in these coming days, and I hope it fills yours too. 

With kindest regards and hope for us all, 

TPL