Ten Things of Thankful: Thanksgiving Weekend

A frozen stream sits between two banks of snow

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! We had fewer family members come than originally expected, but even though we missed those that couldn't make it, we enjoyed time with those that could. And as being thankful is not just for those times when everything is smooth sailing, but also (and maybe even more especially) when life throws a curve ball, I can easily come up with a Ten Things of Thankful list this week:

1. I am thankful for family, both near and far.

2. I am thankful for technology that allows us to stay in touch, quickly and easily. The Pony Express used to be the gold standard for fast communication, taking letters from east coast to west coast in 10 days. Can you imagine writing out news, and not receiving a reply of acknowledgment for 20 days? Now we have talk, text, and video calls which allow us to keep in touch instantaneously.

3. I am thankful for games. Thanks to photos inserted into texts, I could see my sister was struggling with a nearly all-vowel selection of letters while playing Scrabble with my mom, and I also could see that my brother's family was playing a version of Ticket to Ride. Meanwhile, after Thanksgiving dinner here, we were gathered around playing Settlers of Catan and then Ticket to Ride. Although my siblings and I were in separate states, we all were enjoying the same things at Thanksgiving.

4. I am thankful for good food. I love cooking the big traditional meal, then having leftovers for days afterwards.

5. I am thankful for memories of past years. With only a small gathering this year, and everyone being adults, I brought out my great-grandmother's china. My grandma was a braver woman than I, because she used to serve Thanksgiving dinner to all of us, including children, on that same china. Using those dishes brought back memories of past Thanksgivings at Grandma's house, where the amount of food was only surpassed by the amount of love.

6. I am thankful for traditions. Back in 1986, when John and I were students at BYU, the day after Thanksgiving was absolutely beautiful. Thanks to current technology, I was able to google the weather from that day and learned that it was 61 degrees--a record high. Anyway, because it was such nice weather, we went on a picnic and ate Thanksgiving leftovers. Every year since, we have at least acknowledged that it was picnic day, though we didn't always eat outside. This year, however, we packed a picnic basket and headed up the canyon. It was nowhere near 61 degrees!

A snow-covered picnic site

7. I am thankful for wool blankets, warm clothes, and a heater in the car. We ate a sandwich at that picnic table, then finished the meal inside the warm car.

8. I am thankful to remember not to take some things (like a working heater in a car) for granted. When we were dating, John's car had neither a working heater nor seatbelts, but it was a cute little car, even if John did need to scrape ice off both sides of the windshield in the winter. Before we got married, John decided to buy a different car, and he asked for my input on what I wanted. My requests were a car with seatbelts and a working heater. The puke green 1977 Dodge Colt we ended up with had both, as has every other car we've driven since, but I'm glad for the "back in the day" experiences that help me see little things as big thankfuls.

9. I am thankful for hikes. I am not as excited initially as John is to go out in the cold and take off straight uphill (he apparently has more mountain goat DNA than I do), but after we've gone uphill and finally have leveled off on elevation gain, the endorphins have kicked in and I really do enjoy the hike. Today he told me, "I'm going to go out hiking in a little bit. You're welcome to come if you want." I grumbled, "I probably should." Every time I fight inertia and head up the mountain, I'm happy I did.

10. I am thankful for John, my no-pressure hiking buddy, day-after-Thanksgiving picnic partner, and best friend.