Finding Your Thankful

Ugh. Not sure I can express the way things feel in COVID world any more succinctly.  Ugh.  Some days I’m Mary-Sunshine.  Other days I’m Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.  Today, as I’m trying to focus on work and in reality doing mental inventory of my Thanksgiving recipes, I’m also looking out my office window and calling to mind the things for which I’m so thankful.

Confession, I’m a bit of a control freak.  This seemingly endless purgatory is insanely stressful for those of us that like a beginning and an end.  In “normal” times, I’m pretty roll with it.  I can adjust midflight.  As Monica said, I’m breezy.  I’ve read so many articles about why it’s ok to embrace the suck of this pandemic world.  We aren’t programmed to live out of control for extended periods of time.  When I get deep in the mire of this suck, that’s when the thankful bubbles up.

Thanksgiving is this week, so why not share some of those things for which I’m thankful.  This isn’t a list of business tips or some deep, thought provoking list.  This is literally what I’m thankful for today:

• Texts – sometimes a quick text to my crew is like a mini-therapy session.  I’m thankful for witty GIFs my friends send back and for the words of love, encouragement or solidarity.  Some see texts as cold and impersonal.  As someone that spends my work life talking to people, I’m far more likely to throw up my white flag via text than a phone call.
• Books – First, Charlie Mackesy’s absolute heart-warmer, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.  I bought this book based on a friend’s recommendation right before the pandemic shut down.  This book is magic visually and is food for the soul.  Trust me, you need this book.  Flip to any page at any time and the book seems to know what you need to hear.  Thanks, Mr. Mackesy!The second is Ina Garten’s new cookbook, Modern Comfort Food.  I love food.  Cooking is one of my happy places.  I could watch the Cooking Channel or Food Network all day. The photos in the book are drool worthy. There’s something about the way this cookbook is written, I felt like I was there with Ina being walked through the recipes.  Cards on the table, I haven’t made one of the recipes yet, but I have gotten such joy from this cookbook even without a single morsel yet!  You know that cocktail party conversation, “Five people, dead or alive, who would you have dinner with?”, Ina would be on my list.  (So is Dave Grohl. . . that’s for another blog post.)
• Four-leggers – As I’m typing there is a 10 month old yellow lab puppy to my left and a 7 year old chocolate snoozing in the chair behind me.  There is no living creature on earth more thankful than a dog.  You can be in the lousiest of moods and there they are with a wagging tail and wet smooch.  They are just thankful you’re there.  We brought the yellow home the week before Maryland started lock down.  He’s comic relief.  God must love us dumb humans.  He gave us animals. I could write pages of our animal adventures and that would just be from this year!  I’m so thankful for the joy my four-leggers bring to life and the joy with which they bound into every day.  In our house, literally!
• Outlets – Not the ones we use to charge our phones so we get those texts, but things we do to find purpose, to reset.  I’m so thankful I have a job to go to every work day.  So many of us, my parents included, have lost jobs or businesses due to the pandemic.  Many of us have barely left home.  That can be maddening.  (And slightly dangerous for those we live with.)

  If you don’t work, what’s your outlet? How do you fill your cup? Maybe it’s running, knitting, volunteering.  We all need a thing.  I’m also thankful for my riding lessons, online shopping, my workouts and hiking.

• Noise Cancelling Headphones – Pop a pair of noise cancelling headphones on and jump on the tractor, put on a podcast or a favorite play list and I escape.  Hop on the treadmill and beebop to some tunes and I can literally tune out all of life’s noise, even if just for a bit.
• My People – Whether a quick text or email check-in, an impromtu fire pit turned weekly tradition, wine night, Sunday dinners or hikes in the woods – these are all soul-filling because of my people.  We keep each other sane(ish).

I could list so many other things.  I’d truly love to see your current list!  I’ll end by saying, I’m thankful for you and the time you took to read my little self-therapy session.  (And if anyone can put me in touch with Ina Garten or Charlie Mackesy, drop me a line.)