Giving Thanks

A Wooded Path in Autumn by Hans Anderson Brendekild

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy;

they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

— Marcel Proust

There is so much in life to make us happy,

so much abundance, and all of it so simple,

that it gives one the sense of being unworthy.

Those who make me laugh. Out loud.

Those whose caring and generosity is unconditional.

Music that brings me to tears. Or makes me want to vacuum.

Train rides that carry me off onto landscapes that hold me captivated for hours.

The alchemy of making the perfect cup of tea.

The birds who nest on the house each spring.

The call of crows each morning as they leave their roosts in the cemetery.

The song of robins at twilight.

The first glimpse of paint-box colored primroses pushing through earth.

The scent of dried seedheads in the fall.

The aroma of bacon in the house on Saturday mornings.

The sound of the postman at the mailbox and the discovery of a letter from a friend.

The heft of wool in my hands as I knit,

and the slow emergence of a sock, mitten or hat.

The way the wind howls in the hemlock at night.

The way the rain pelts the window panes.

The way the snow robes the garden arbors.

Being on time for the bus.

Getting entirely lost in a good book.

Dozing in a chair in the garden on a summer's day.

Opening packages from far away loved ones.

Sending packages to far away loved ones.

Sawing tree branches into firewood.

Building a fire on the grate.

The scent of the Christmas tree in the house.

Making soup on Sunday afternoons.

Opening a new bottle of wine.

Baking bread.

 Family dinners, family drives, and family sleep overs.

Being with family.

Having a cat wind around your ankles.

Having a dog rest his chin on your knee.

The scent of lavender water and steam as I iron.

Starting off on a road trip with a loved one.

Finding a package of Twizzlers in my purse.

Getting Chinese take-away on payday.

Having enough rainfall to fill the rain barrel in August.

Smiling back at people in your favorite paintings.

The transcendent sound of Church choirs.

Looking at old photographs.

Observing family traditions and rituals.

Learning family history.

Watching squirrels in the back yard.

Eating cookies warm from the oven.

Kissing and hugging my family and friends.

Eating waxed-paper wrapped sandwiches on the beach in summer.

Drinking thermoses of hot tea on the beach in winter.

Sitting on a bench by the bay and watching the boats sail past.

Watching football or hockey games on television.

Going to hockey games and eating cheese fries.

Riding the merry-go-round with my mother.

Eating ice cream cones with my daughter.
Coloring with my granddaughter.

Riding go-karts with my grandson.

Watching my grandchildren at the lake each summer.

Spinning wool on my wheel.

Watching "A Muppets Christmas Carol" each year. 

Reading "Wuthering Heights" each Autumn.

Putting my socks and nightgown on the radiator on cold nights.

Listening to crickets under the porch window in late summer.
Waking up each morning.

For all this and so much more I am heartily thankful.