Grateful Gratitude

Every morning, my Jerry sends me an eMail with a synopsis of items in the newspapers that he either found interesting or that he thought I'd want to know.  He includes a few comic strip titles that he enjoyed that day, which sometimes I can look up and sometimes I cannot.  I've gotten to take for granted that he will be taking the time and making the effort to do this for me; so when I don't receive it by midMorning, I get a lil impatient, as tho I were entitled to this lagniappe that he does for me.

Earlier this week, I thought about the various things he does that I don't appreciate or express that, in the way that my Jerry deserves.  It's all the lil things that make my life easier, richer, more meaningful, and very satisfying.  There are so many of them, that once I started to give the matter some specific attention, I was tearing up with gratitude.

He's such a good man and so sweet to me.

This week is Thanksgiving for us USAmericans.  The day means something slightly different for every one of us.  In my family of origin, Thanksgiving was our most significant holiday.  There were lots of traditions that we built and put into practice.  For me, as a young adult, even when I was away from my family, I carried on many of those traditions like a full spread of roasted turkey with filling and stuffing {what folks here in the south call "dressing"}, sweet potatoes, succotash, creamed corn, pineapple salad, cranberry sauce {made with fresh cranberries}, and an assortment of pies.  Friday, when so many folks are shopping, I'd be baking cookies and cakes for gifts of appreciation.  Often that baking would continue on thru the weekend and end on Monday with a huge pot of chili, using the left over turkey.

Then there were some life circumstances that tapped my energy and made that a difficult activity to do.  I would sometimes go to others' dinners, but it never quite felt right.  I missed doing those traditions, the meaningfulness that we ourselves assigned the holiday.

Eventually, I met Jerry and our first Thanksgiving was so full of stories, his family of creation's traditions, people, activity, and so forth that I felt comfortable, like the way coming home should feel.  He cooked his three main dishes:  the slow roasted turkey that goes into the counter top Nesco; the huge stew pot of gravy, with hardboiled eggs; and the cornbread dressing.  At the time, I made all the side dishes, the vegetable salad, the cranberry sauce, the limas, and the creamed corn.  I baked bread, using the methods my mom taught me when I was a child, and pies from scratch, worrying over the "foolproof" crust.  And no one ate anything but the turkey, gravy, and dressing.  Eventually, I stopped putting the effort into doing the sides and would completely relax, getting up about an hour before the early dinner at eleven in the morning; showing up at the table, sometimes setting it, sometimes not; and eating, with seconds, sometimes thirds.

Now tho, this year, my husband and I opted to have a quiet day, just the two of us.  I may go visit a friend who has invited me to her place just down the road, and grab a few nibbles of turkey and vegetables.  Jerry and I will enjoy our peaceful home, satisfied with each other and life in general.  He will watch football, especially that evening's EggBowl, the annual tradition of Ole Miss and MSU having it out on the field.  It's an odd year, so the game is here, at State.  I will listen to some audio books, via Hoopla; or crochet or knit; or write; or do all of these activities.  We will be content, just as we are thru~out most of the year, most every day.  And I will enjoy that very much.

Because I've made a point to focus on the people, actions, and things I am grateful for; I have a fuller heart and these are in the forefront of my mind.  We are not traveling, preoccupied with the road, other drivers, the weather, where we are going, what we will be doing, whom we will spend time with, and when we will be returning home.  We are not hosting, preparing rooms, beds, baths, tables, food, food, and more food.  We are simply relaxing, enjoying each other and life.

And I am more grateful than I can adequately express.