Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Giving

My favorite tree on my favorite walking path

It's raining leaves in my front yard, which makes me completely happy except for the little part realizing that eventually the last leaf will twirl down and then the trees will be twiggy and bare. And the only way to get to another fall and all of its chilly, colorful, anticipatory splendor is to endure the winter (not bad) and spring (quite nice) and the fierce heat of summer (ugh!).

I feel somewhat obliged to give a Thanksgiving recap, though I sort of hate playing catch-up. If I might make a true confession, I don't actually care for much of the traditional Thanksgiving spread. I find turkey quite dry and boring. Mashed potatoes have never been my fancy. I favor them only as a plate-to-face vessel for gravy. Yams are, in my opinion, an abomination. The stuffing is quite possibly the only dish, unique to Thanksgiving, that I really anticipate. That said, (and I do apologize if that sounded ungrateful or gripey), I look forward to Thanksgiving for plenty of other reasons and this year's feast and the accompanying festivities were delightful. It's always a thrill to pass a little time on Big Bend Cove with our much beloved Rampton family. It was lovely to spend the weekend cooking in Becca's warm kitchen, enjoying late-night rounds of Rook, working off the evidence of our gluttony in the turbo-kick class and on the climbing wall of the YMCA (even if I did look like a king-size dork in the orange helmet and only made it half way up the wall), restoring the evidence (of gluttony) in front of a football game with a full spread of nachos and fixin's, sewing to the suspenseful sounds of Marlin Brando and Al Pacino. (The Godfather was on TV; we watched to see why it is always on top of the 100 Best Movies of All Time lists. Does it make me a cultural dim wit to admit that post-viewing, I'm still wondering? Probably.) And I know that I've written about her goodness before, but Rebecca is one in a million. I really haven't met many people who are more genuinely kind and love-filled than she is. I always hope that in spending time with her, if I'm lucky and she's clumsy, some of that goodness will rub off on me.

My only regret about the weekend was that I didn't spend more time enumerating my blessings. They are many. But sometimes selfishness, greed, complacency...push the gratitude to the periphery; I don't want that. I want it right up in the middle of my heart -- shiny and warm. So...

Healthy Children (And cute, too.)

Healthy Me, Healthy Man -- Healthy All
Good Love
Beautiful Earth
Freedom to stay in my pajamas all day
Sustaining Faith
Phone calls from Corvallis
Kind Family
Calm heart
Dear Friends
Chunky chocolate chippers in the tupperware on top of the fridge
Conference Ensign
Lunch with Henry. Every day.
Longer-than-usual Texas fall
Mother-in-law's help after Lily was born (still thankful, Cindy)
Homemade Holiday decor inherited from Grandma Nan
I get to see her in three weeks (!)
Smell of Lily
Sounds of Henry's imaginary play
My camera
The computer
Warm House
Quiet House (when both children nap. Almost never.)
Red leaves on my front lawn

That's a good start...

Thanks.

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