Thankful Times Are Here Again

It's Thanksgiving Eve, and I'm sitting here on the couch by myself (Josh is away gaming) blithely ignoring the fact that it's bedtime (especially for those of us who keep only getting 6ish hours of sleep--and interrupted sleep at that--a night for the last few weeks). My pumpkin pies for tomorrow's Thanksgiving get-together (that Eli helped me make) just came out of the oven, and I'm waiting for them to cool down so I can put them in the fridge. The rich autumn smell of them is permeating the house and making everything seem oh so cozy and comforting. The sound of the ocean waves coming through the baby monitor are combining with the hum of the various hibernating living room electronics to create an oddly soothing white noise muzak of sorts. But must. Resist. Vegetative. State.

It's peaceful right now. I'm thankful for that. There's going to be a lot of logistical hurly burly and holiday hoo-ha splatting against the windshield of my speeding life in the near future, starting tomorrow and continuing all weekend long (and off and on until the end of December). Thanksgiving will bring with it the typical mashup of good and maybe not-so-good: traditional guilty food indulgences, (over)abundance of family time, and logistical overwhelm combined with moments of clarity and connection that sparkle like jewels embedded in a muddy creek bottom with the water rushing over them. (Whew, I'm clearly in a massively multi-metaphorical mood right now. And an alliterative one too.)

I know it's going to be a challenge to stay in a good mood and a centered place during this next 6 impacted weeks of holiday craziness. I will try to hang on to this peacefulness, carry around the sensory snapshot of this evening like an amulet against the hoo-ha to come. I will look for the jeweled moments and appreciate them when I find them, and add them to the amulet too. I will gather a whole medicine bag of life's good moments and small kindnesses and dip into it when life gets too overwhelming or the cocoa gets too bleak--but for now I'm writing some basics down so I don't forget.

I'm thankful for all the friends and family who love me, and whom I love.
I'm thankful for small quiet times in my own house doing what I want to do on my own terms.
I'm thankful for (relative) health and well-being.
I'm thankful for the (relative) lack of drama and tragedy in my life right now.
I'm thankful for the awe-inspiring natural beauty all around me in this season, in this place.
I'm thankful for art time, both as audience and creator.
I'm thankful for all the outstandingly good food I get to enjoy.
I'm thankful for being able to sleep through the night (mostly).

Remember this, Self. The Suck-it-Up Olympics are right around the corner and this thankfulness, along with a good strong dose of humor, is what you'll need to not only survive the training, but once again win the gold.