Ten Reasons I Am Thankful This Week

A year ago my friend Kristina wrote this beautiful post of thanksgiving, celebrating her blessings. It inspired many of us to take the time on Thursdays last November to write about ten things for which we were grateful.

With the arrival of a new November, I really wanted to host a fresh carnival of Thankful Thursdays this week, but my conscience simply won't allow me to spend much time on the computer these days. Still, I feel the need to make the time to reflect on the good stuff in my life and to write about it.

If you feel inspired to join me, please leave your link in the comments so that I can come and count your blessings with you. Maybe I'll be able to pull it together in a formal way next Thursday. Maybe.

Without further ado, here are ten reasons I am thankful this week.

I am thankful to be living in Ohio once again. Belgium provided a host of enriching experiences, but it was so, well, foreign. I was born and raised in the opposite corner of this state, and my oldest daughter was born right here in this city. It is neither the most beautiful nor the most exciting place I've ever been, but it feels like home. People are genuine and friendly, and I'm happy here.

I'm thankful for the tremendous support among Catholic home schoolers in our new hometown. We plugged into the community right away and have made some wonderful new friends. There's an immediate sense of being kindred spirits when you share such fundamental convictions about how to raise your family.

I'm thankful for the opportunities embraced by my oldest daughter, Elena. She really wanted to go to high school this year, and we convinced her to try a year at home in our new community. Fortunately, the Catholic home school world is alive and well for high schoolers both in our city and online. She's been blessed with challenging online classes, fun extracurricular activities, and many good friends who share her beliefs about faith and life. She's giving it her all.

I'm thankful to witness my children growing closer and closer. Elena was an only child for eight years, and it was painful to watch her loneliness in growing up alone, especially after having been raised in a large, happy family myself. It warms my heart to take my kids to the park and observe the fun and camaraderie they share with one another, especially the youngest four. They truly are each other's best friends and love being together.

I'm thankful for my husband, who did the grocery shopping Tuesday after work and then scrubbed the kitchen floor on his knees later that night. He never fails to look for ways to make my life easier. And he never complains about picking up the slack (or crumbs) I leave behind. Not only that, he took me on a date Wednesday night. To Lowe's. (Romantic devil.) To look at paint color swatches. Not that I'm thinking of changing those mauve walls. Not at all.

I'm thankful for a new parish that offers a reverent Liturgy, a beautiful setting, a kind and holy pastor, and a faithful body of believers. I'm thankful that we didn't have to celebrate All Saints Day alone this year. I'm also thankful for the lack of traffic in our city, which makes the drive downtown doable. It's so worth it.

I'm thankful for the peaceful week I spent with my kids at Clear Creek in mid-October. This little state park in western Pennsylvania is my home away from home and my favorite place on earth. We hiked beneath the falling leaves of amber and crimson, we listened to our Indians lose the pennant and toasted marshmallows anyway beside the campfire, we played and prayed together in a rustic one-room log cabin without running water or the internet. On the weekend, we were joined by some family and friends and, best of all, Daddy. As he was welcomed into our fairyland late Friday night by a streaming procession of dancing leaves, he remarked, "this place is so good for the soul." I could have easily stayed for another week or more.

I'm thankful for good food, which nourishes the body, and good books, which nourish the spirit. Both bind our family together in memorable ways and take us on journeys to faraway places. We couldn't do without either.

I'm thankful to be living near family again. After three years abroad, we are savoring every single visit. Next to Jim, my siblings are my best friends in the world, and Jim's family is like my own. The cousins are all amazingly close, on both sides, and it's pure joy to see the love and laughter being passed down to the next generation. I'm especially thankful to live just an hour from my sister Karen, who, like my husband, never fails to look for ways to serve me and always inspires me with her generous heart and vivacious presence.

I'm thankful for a place to record these thoughts. And for the sacrificial gift of my husband in letting me write them. And for the faithful readers who continue to check back here even when my posts are extremely sporadic. Jim used to tell me not to worry what you think, just to write for myself. But honestly, I'd rather write for you.

Thanks for staying with me so long, both today and this past year. May God bless you with a thankful Thursday.