10 Things of Thankful

I’ve been meaning to do a TToT post for a long time now . . . I tend to procrastinate. A lot. It’s not that I don’t have a multitude of things to be thankful for and it’s not that I am an ungrateful recipient of my blessings – I’m just lazy sometimes. When you combine lazy and writer’s block with a somewhat sour mood, nothing happens. I’ve had a whole lot of nothing happening of late. Nada.

Today though, I have decided to try to wriggle and wrestle at least a few words from my cluttered, clouded, and cobweb covered mind and force them to visit the page in hopes they dance their way to life. I’m afraid it may be a bit like an impromptu, poorly choreographed, and unrehearsed interpretive type of dance however. Bear with me until I take my unsteady bow and the curtain falls.

Cue Lights ~ I opened my curtains this morning to a glorious sun streaming through the glass, the gentle rays filtered into my room, illuminating and shooing away any remnants of night still trying to linger there.  It hurt my eyes so I closed them and vowed to remain in the shadows for the rest of the day, BUT, that has been getting me nowhere these past several weeks so I opened them once again and slid the window open wide. I’d forgotten how thankful I was to live in a place where the weather is almost always quite pleasant, or at the very least, not too terribly unpleasant.

Cue Sound ~ Such a sweet song welcomed me to the day. The birds were in full chorus, happily serenading the sun and the breeze and the beautiful trees on which they perched. Though if I’m being honest, and I certainly always strive to be, I almost closed the window because their cheer was of a slight annoyance to me, BUT, I didn’t. I listened until I felt the joy of which they sang. Nature’s soothing sounds are a symphony to the senses if you stop long enough to truly give them audience. How can anyone not feel thankful when the air is filled with an enchanting aria that moves even the tiny flowers at your feet.

Places Everyone ~ Sitting before my open window, allowing the outside to find its way in, I began to think about my day. I started mentally scrolling through my internal list of things in need of doing, places in need of going, and chores in need of . . . choring. Whatever. My mind began to wander however, as it always seems to do, and I found myself deep in thoughts of other things. Books waiting to be read, words waiting to be written, and thoughts waiting to be thought. The kids were still snoozing and I was still pondering when my husband came in with a hot cup of coffee for me. No list of needs or wants, just a perfect cup of caffeinated morning perfection. The calm of the morning began to settle within me. My heart was overwhelmed with gratitude for mornings like this, for every morning actually. Every new start to every new day is a glorious gift.

Acte I ~ One of my favorite sounds this world has to offer aside from silence and the laughter of my children, is my mother’s voice. Two rings echoing across the miles and I hear it. It fills my heart and when she tells me she hopes I have a wonderful day I believe I will. Among my greatest treasures is her friendship. Daily she gives me love and hope and guidance, just like she has since they day she first held me in her arms. I am so much more than grateful for my mother. She inspires me. She fills me with awe and delight. Her love has carried me through life and it always will. I can hear her smile, I don’t have to see it to know it’s there. I hear her voice when we cannot speak, I feel her comfort when we are apart. I haven’t enough words to express how thankful I am to have the honor of simply being her daughter.

Acte II ~ The friendships I’ve forged in the virtual world have so often fueled me and fulfilled me. Friendship is a beautiful thing, it’s different for me than it is for some; I don’t spend my days chatting on the phone with them or shopping or hanging out or whatever it is that friends so often do. My connections with friends span many miles, sometimes thousands as I read the words they’ve typed to the brightly lit screens that connect us. Sometimes I long to sit with them in some cozy little coffee shop somewhere and spend hours lost in conversations about anything and everything and nothing. Sometimes I wish I could reach out and hold their hands or wrap them in a hug, but I have to hope the words I share convey my feelings, I have to hope they are enough. I have to hope they know how truly thankful I am for their presence in my life, that our friendship is real and I value it with the whole of my heart.

Entr’acte ~ I’ve gathered my things – a replenished cup of coffee, today’s book, my reading glasses, and my laptop – I’ve settled myself beneath the big umbrella on the porch. There is a perfect breeze tiptoeing through the radiating rays of the bright and brilliant beacon above me and the birds have lulled themselves into softly muted sonnets of incidental poetry, gently warbling verse high above in the treetops. I feel the need to whisper a silent prayer of gratitude for the moments like this, moments I too often take for granted.

Acte III ~ There is something soothing to my soul in the sound of the keys as my thoughts frolic through my fingers as they aid them to their place on the screen that sits before me. It doesn’t quite compare to the mellifluous movement of a pen gliding across the surface of a page however, that is the music to which my dreams are composed of. You have to listen for it sometimes, but once you hear it, it resonates within your soul, at least it does so in mine. That I was given the gift of words, that I was enabled with the ability to share the beatings of my heart for others to hear is more than a blessing to me, so much more, and I am forever thankful for it.

Acte IV ~ I’m exceedingly thankful for the whole of life, the ups and even the downs, after all – we only learn to rise by falling. I’ve taken a few tumbles and made a few missteps, but my journey has made me strong, stronger than I ever thought I could be. The hardships I’ve faced in life have been the stepping-stones that led me to where I am, how could I not be thankful for them? If you face the thorns, you’ll find the roses hidden within the brambles. The Lord above knows I’ve faced my share of thorns, he allowed them to grow here and there so I might learn to find the beauty within them. He allowed them to prick me so I would learn to heal. He let them grow across my path so I would learn to find a better way. I could have stopped and made my heart a home where they blocked my passage, but my faith taught me to soar above them and I did. Looking down I saw their blooming petals unfold, unafraid and unaltered by the thorns below them, and I knew then that no matter what my thorns might be, I was going to bloom just like those roses.

Acte VII ~ This day is nearing the end of its reign, the sun is setting and the stars are peeking through the darkness spreading itself across the sky. The air is still, the little birds have quieted for the night and the crickets have replaced their song with one of their own. The moon is peering through my open window now, as if to say goodnight. I’ve always been thankful for the night, it holds a beauty all of its own, unlike any other. The ebony sky sings a silent lullaby, soothing the world beneath it to slumber. I admit, there are times I fear the night. The darkness. The quiet that sometimes settles upon me like a shroud. The sun always rises though, it always rises, so I must be thankful for the night, for without it, morning could not come.

Crystal R. Cook

~ Le Fini ~