An Unusual Thanks Giving

My dear sweet friend Michal asked today for our most unusual thankful things which is awesome because I have been feeling rebellious and totally avoiding the traditional “I am thankful for friends and family and blah blah blah….”  This is totally typical of me.  I hate going along with the crowd and when people start repeating the same thing then I want to run the opposite direction.  I hate boring and everyone saying the same thing IS boring and yet I AM grateful for many things.    And so, without further ado, my most unusual thankful list which really isn’t that unusual after all:

  • I am so utterly and totally grateful for family that accepts us as we are and sweetly accepts that we do things differently and have Thanksgiving dinner at home so that we can have a healthy Thanksgiving.  Due to our severe food allergies  (like Turkey–just being in a house with one cooking makes it hard for me to breathe, and the same goes for Rach and cinnamon, apples, and citrus, plus Shamus’ allergy to animals and the people who own them) Thanksgiving at home on our own terms is a blessing.

Inlaws

  • I am thankful that our dear friend (more like family she is) CJ is on her way here to share our meal with us despite the fact that we are having Tofurkey and a beef roast instead of the traditional stuff, and that she is bringing her sweet little one who will help distract us all from our losses this year (she lost her father a week before my mother passed away.)
  • I am thankful for salad.  Gosh I love salad  with dried fruit and nuts and due to money issues which have had us living on rice, beans, oatmeal, and noodles we have not had any in the house for a while.
  • I am thankful that we had the money to buy Thanksgiving dinner.  We are not by any means poor but due to issues with checks coming in at awkward times money has been especially tight and having a nice meal for Thanksgiving is especially nice this year.
  • I am thankful for a cake, a real store bought birthday cake for my Essie.  A cake sans dyes and other things that we can’t eat, beautifully decorated from Whole Foods which we will eat tomorrow with Trader Joes ice cream and soy cream.
  • I am thankful that for the first time ever my egg free, dairy free, soy free, cinnamon free pumpkin pies turned out beautifully and according to the kids both the filling AND the crust turned out just right.
  • I am thankful for a car that runs well and is paid for and gasoline to get to TJ and Whole Foods just in time to get specially foods for Thanksgiving and for a gift card that suddenly worked in order to GET the gasoline after not working right for a year, no matter how I tried.
  • I am thankful for my baby brother who is now officially an adult (he turned 18 on Tuesday, the same age I was when he was born.)  And for my beautiful baby girl who is now 10 and so very grown up.

    • Essie, age 10

  • I am thankful that we can all be home together every day and that my husband loves being with us and that my kids love being home and the lifestyle of learning we are involved in.
  • I am thankful for a day without a single temper tantrum from anyone–the first in many days.  Praise the Lord.
  • I am thankful that the game my husband needed to get for his next comic went on sale $12 off the original price just in time for us to get it for today so he can get ahead on his comics.
  • I am grateful for the messes that occur because we ARE all home together, for furniture that isn’t expensive so it doesn’t matter if it gets constantly used and roughed up, and for a below par kitchen that doesn’t care about it’s constant use.
  • I am grateful that my husband is on cut time.  This is the first holiday in a long time that he didn’t have to work and could spend it doing something he enjoyed, even if it is playing a video game for research for his OTHER job.  At least he is able to do it on HIS terms and enjoy himself in the process.

    • Shamus and the mug

  • I am grateful that we have too much work when so many others are out of a job.  Money may be tight and time may be tight but we are so blessed to have more work than we can possibly do.
  • I am thankful that our gas fireplace is working and that we now know why it wasn’t working and that the problem was an easy one to solve.
  • I am thankful for wonderful inlaws who love me like a daughter/sister and healthy relationship with my own dad and step mom and brothers. And did I mention my inlaws’ awesome sense of humor?

Goofy family

  • I am grateful for a Savior who loves me even when I fall apart and have a crisis of faith, for God’s Word hidden in my heart so I can easily remember what I believe and why when I do have a crisis.