November 28

Today's the day.  Gratitude is flowing like a river over on the Facebook.  As I reveled in the positivity and grace that filled my newsfeed I found myself wondering what our world might be like if these were the words on our lips every day.

To quote a friend, may every day be an occasion to be thankful.

Today, though-- it did merit more than its fair share.

So much bounty today.  A house full of family, a long table filled with food and conversation, rooms warm and soft with voices and laughter. More desserts than we could handle.  Grown cousins sharing memories, young ones making new ones.  It felt good to be back in Grandma Gertie's house -- now Aunt Pat's house, updated and refurnished but still in so many ways the house of childhood visits, of hours spent playing with toys in the magical coat closet (the light turned on by itself when you opened the door! imagine!)-- eating trail bologna and chatting easily with my Strasburg family.  I may be partial but these are some of the best people I know in the world.  Kind, caring, funny and blunt.  You never have to worry about pretense with my family; what you see is what you get-- and it is all wonderful.  I loved watching Jack and Ivy get to know everyone.  They were at ease instantly.  Even Ivy, who has not been here since she was 6 weeks old, said as we walked in, "I remember this house!"

The only sad part of today was the knowledge that it has been 3 years since our last visit.

No excuse for that.

We've vowed to not let it happen again.

So tonight I am thankful for family, thankful to be a part of this group.  Thankful for all their welcoming hearts, for our shared memories.  Thankful for the chance for Jack and Ivy to play hide and seek with the next generation of cousins, to form their own new family bonds.

I am thankful for this day, for good health and good roads and a pretty, crispy, snow-covered afternoon.  I am grateful for a quiet walk through the Strasburg streets.  I am grateful for good food and good company and a quiet evening at home watching Dr. Who.  I am grateful for this day and the richness that is my life.

May we all keep this spirit of gratitude in our hearts, every day.

November 26

Last night's entry would've been a short one if I'd managed to blog.  Last night, I was grateful to have Nat back home.  Spent my blogging time happily chatting with him til past my bedtime.  So there.

Actually, there was lots to be grateful for yesterday.  Some of the highlights:

* the opportunity to get my children ready and off to school in the morning.  Routine and ordinary though it may sound, it was a gift.  I loved watching Jack skip off down the path, so serious about being on time.  And the cuteness factor in Ivy's preschool class is really out of control.

* a short and peaceful day at school.  Students who, despite the fact that they've been driving me crazy and I've been too short with them of late, said they'd miss me when I went to my conference on Tuesday.

* My too-kind co-teacher who surprised me with a perfect birthday gift.  As if working with her weren't gift enough.

Tonight, I am grateful  to have slept in until 7, the second morning in a row.  I am grateful for the opportunity to go to a workshop with one of my favorite co-workers, a day of learning and collaborating and drinking coffee with nice, cooperative adults.  I am grateful again to have my family all together, grateful that I do not have to single-parent all the time.  We are blessed with our partnership, Nat and I.  I am grateful for a coffee date, for companionable work together over an Americano.  I am grateful for family dinners in Lakewood and the gift of time to sing with my choir.  I am grateful that some of our pieces are really starting to come together, just in time for the concert.  I am grateful for the friendly and funny group of sopranos I am sitting with, and that my seat in concert order is in the front and on the end, my favorite place to sing.  I am grateful that the roads weren't any worse driving home, and that the world is soft and white and magical outside my window, as candles glitter within.  I love snow when I am not on the road with it.  I am grateful for this reminder that these upcoming holidays, stress and scheduling aside, serve such a deep purpose for me: a settling in, a slowing down, sheltering from the storm and pushing back the dark.  I am ready to greet this next month with a grateful heart.

November 24

Tonight I am grateful for a quiet day with my littles, for snuggling in with movies, for cooking and puttering about the house.  I am grateful for phone calls and Skype and the relationships my children have with all their grandparents.  I am grateful for dinner swap, as much for the tea and conversation as for the ready meals.  I missed everyone last week.  I am grateful that my husband is heading home tomorrow.  I like it better when he is here.

November 23

Tonight I am grateful for friends and playdates, for company on a snowy Saturday, for the wonderful refreshment of a really cold day.  I am grateful for the creativity of a good museum exhibit, for my kids, pretending and playing together, for their joy in all the moments of the day.  I am grateful for afternoon movies and kids snuggled on a couch and a few stolen moments to make the downstairs rooms sparkle.  I am grateful for the fact that most nights, I am looking forward to my husband's return home, right about now.  Absence certainly does make the heart grown fonder and I am grateful to be missing him only for a few more days.

November 22

Tonight I am grateful for my mom, who took over kid duty and had dinner waiting for me this evening.  Johnny Marzetti, no less.
I am grateful that Nat made it safely to Baltimore, that he gets to connect with so many wonderful people this weekend-- though I do wish I were there with him to see them too.
I am grateful that I have a husband who is so very missable when he is away.
I am grateful for relatively complaint students at school and a nice, uncomplicated outing.
I am grateful for quiet, tonight.

November 21

I am grateful that I was not at work until 8:30 tonight.
I am grateful for Thursday nights, together as a family, two parents home for bedtimes.  It feels luxurious.
I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday.  The weeks have been long at work, of late.  Yet, so terribly, incredibly fast.
I am grateful that my life is full enough to let time feel fast.
I am grateful for the little voices calling "mom!" over and over and over each evening.  Both the joyous "mommmy!" of greeting and the whiny repetitive "momma" of little people demanding my time and attention for each tiny thing.  I am grateful for their demands and the tiny things they want to show me, even when I am tired and a (big) part of me doesn't want to say "yes?"... I am so very lucky to have these little, emerging humans calling my name.
I am grateful for the miracle of a fresh coat of paint on a basement wall.

November 20

Tonight I am grateful for my husband's wonderful backrubs.  I am grateful too that both my conferences and my children's behavior were smooth and uncomplicated on this long long day.  The kiddos were troupers, hanging out at school for almost 4 hours with me.  I am grateful for my wonderful co-worker, who kept Ivy busy for 40 minutes and made herself a new, 3 year old best friend.  I am grateful for photos of our summer, to keep my heart warm on this chilly night.  Working on the annual photo book is good for the soul.  The moments I have to be grateful for are too many and wonderful to fit on a page...

November 19

Tonight I am feeling grateful for my family.  For my own little unit of 5, for the way we move through life together, pieces of a whole, knowing one another so fully and sharing all the small moments, good and bad. For my mother and my sister, the three of us, strong women all, our shared history and our dreams for the future.  For my father and stepmother, for the gifts of time and travel and support and inspiration  they've always given me (how I wish I could see them every week!). For my cousins and aunts, my far-flung family,  Hendersons and Heids, scattered around this country but called to be together more and more as the years go by.  Without our anchors-- Grampy, Grandma Gertie-- we've struggled.  But we are still family and there is still time and there are beach houses to share and giant Thanksgiving dinners to plan and I am so grateful for each of these people who share my genes and my history.
Time is flying towards the aforementioned Thanksgiving day and in this rush of days leading up to it, I am grateful for the chance to slow down and think about the people in my life, and the joy they bring me.  I am grateful too for music, for the Brahams Requiem, for a director who makes music theory exciting to learn; for crispy cold night air, for quick shopping trips and lingering conversations with the man I love. I  am grateful for my health and my busy, busy life.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Except for maybe with more time to sleep.

November 18

I am grateful this evening for this quiet house, for a clean kitchen, for the peace of soft lighting and a feeling of things being squared away.  At least for tonight.
I am grateful for windy crisp evenings and rustling leaves, for happy and cooperative little shopping buddies, for the simple joy of a candy necklace and a gumball. 
I am grateful for good workouts to start the day and graham crackers with milk to finish it off.

November 17

I am grateful tonight for days spent at home, for energetic project days and making change in our home.  I am grateful for our cooperative children.  And for educational television programming that made a day of projects possible.  I am grateful for the burst of sunshine this afternoon, for a quick walk through the gully across the street, for my curious children balancing on fallen logs and poking around in the undergrowth. After scoping out the derelict state of the two vacant houses there, I am even more grateful for my cozy, solid home.  I am grateful for healthy children, a husband who supports my crazy ideas, and a snuggly spaniel.  I am grateful for this weekend that felt almost long enough to get everything done.

November 16

Grateful tonight:
A great shopping experience at baby bargain bonanza-- got practically everything on my list plus the fun of shopping with my mom.
Extra bonus-- coffee and brunch and time to talk with my mom, after.
The warm weather and following our whim to go for a hike in bedford.
Browns and grays of the forest in fall, highlighted by shocks of color, one red leaf tucked among the stones by the river, the green of ferns glowing from the spaces between the trees.
Two big kids hiking down and back up with independence and enthusiasm.
One happy, happy spaniel bouncing through the woods.
A giddy little boy coming home from a hockey party with red sprayed hair and face paint and alight with the thrill of being out, hours past bedtime, without his parents.

November 15

Today  I am grateful for:

warmer temperatures
sunny skies
starting the day with spinning class
working for 3 hours
the chance to collaborate with parents and colleagues
soup, salad and breadsticks lunch
well-behaved children at said lunch
afternoons full of extra time
an extra sweet boy happy to have his mom home with him
new running shoes
leftover buffet for dinner
evening walks on darkened streets, full moon washed over with wisps of cloud
leaves rustling under 8 feet and four paws
a little boy who loves his sister
a little girl who keeps me in stitches
evening coffee from starbucks
snuggly blankets
dreaming up ideas with my husband
days like today

November 14

Today at the end of a long, long day (almost 14 hours at school), I am thankful for the act of coming home, for the family I have to come home to.  For an excited singing spaniel, a snuggly tired girl, a sweet boy leaning in for hugs and wanting to cut out snowflakes.  I am thankful, too for the chance to choose the positive, to emphasize the good; the privilege of bringing light into another parent's eyes through genuine praise of the genuine good in their child.  That is totally worth 5 extra hours at school.

November 12 and 13

Yesterday was full of gratitude and short on the time to write about it.

Grateful for:
-- West Shore Chorale, beautiful voices and beautiful people
-- the fact that I have been lucky to sing with John Drotleff for almost 20 years now
--singing almost in tempo and a lot better in tune.  We may in fact be ready for our concert.
--driving home with Fiona.  She is one of the lights of my week.
--a snowstorm that was much lighter than expected, flakes fluttering down through patchy sun rather than sticking to the roads.  One less awful commute for the winter.
--a coffee date with my husband
-- dinner with my mom
--a Gram who is teaching my son to sew!  I am so happy to watch my kids' relationship with my mom grow and change and blossom as these years go by.


And today! Today I am grateful that it is Wednesday, halfway through the week.  I am grateful for a warm bed with flannel sheets, waiting for my imminent arrival.  I am grateful for my fellow teachers who are so flexible and helpful and accommodating as they work to make middle school a better place for my students. I am grateful for a quiet evening at home, for card games on the carpet and playing pretend; for mycreative daughter pretending to be a snail slithering, laying on her tummy under a laundry basket; for my son, the emerging artist, carefully creating a "pes of art" for mommy to take to work.   I am grateful that he loves his pet rat, and that he doesn't fight about homework.  I am grateful for the pat-pat-pat of Ivy's hands when we snuggle. I am grateful for my cornbag and hot tea, for clean floors and having a dishwasher.  My life is full of convenience and ease and I will not forget to be grateful for that, even in the face of the constant cycle of picking up and cleaning up and then picking up some more.  I am grateful for the opportunity to pick up after these healthy, happy, mess making children.  I am grateful for the opportunity to clean this safe, strong house.  We are collecting change to donate to the Phillipines, supporting the efforts of third graders at Jack's school.  My coins are miniscule token in the face of the tragedy there.  I cannot instantly rebuild their homes and lives, though I would will it to be so if only I could.  But I can hold the people of Manila and Tacloban in my heart and work like crazy to learn from this, that we cannot take our lives and homes and comfort and happiness for granted.  Not for one minute. 

November 11

Veteran's Day, so I must note that I am, in fact, grateful to the sacrifices of the men and women who have fought in our wars, despite the fact that the thought of all that fighting eats a hole through my soul. I am grateful that others have gone through the horror of war so that I can be complacent and free here at home.  I would be more grateful if the cost of my complacency and freedom did not have to be violence.

Sigh.

In the meantime, a dose of gratitude for the beauty of this complacent and free life I am so lucky to have.

Tonight I am grateful for a quiet day at school, only a little middle school drama to keep the day interesting.

I am grateful for a fun afternoon of swimming with the kids, for my little fish who are just taking off with their swimming more and more each time we go, for an hour playing together in the Family Place, for cardboard block castles and yoga on the mats, for peanut butter sandwiches and children being kind to one another. 

I am grateful for scented candles and my fake fireplace and a cozy dog to snuggle on a snowy night.

I am grateful that my progress reports are almost done.

I am grateful for peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

November 10

So much to be grateful for today, as I sit here in my cozy quiet living room, drinking wine, scented candles and the voices of some of my favorite people filling the room with warmth and joy.

I am grateful for my friends, for their stories and kindness and smiles and the comfort I feel with them.

I am grateful for soup and shared meals, for homemade bread and friendships, for children running around my house in princess dresses and happiness.

I am grateful for Real Simple magazine, and the article three years ago that inspired dinner swap.

I am grateful for a visit to the art museum on a grey November day, for the bustle and crowds filling the galleries.  I am so in love with this new space in our city. It is a gift.

I am grateful for my daughter, my shopping buddy today, a spark of light running around Zagaras in her purple tutu, bringing smiles to everyone she passed.

I am grateful for my son, so independent, heading up to his room to hang out with his friend during soup, so tall and grown up all of a sudden.

I am grateful for the warmth that can be found on a cold fall day.

November 9

Tonight, I am grateful for all simple things that made me happy today.

1.  The leaves are STILL beautiful.  Driving across town on a cloudy-blue day was a delight.

2.  This morning a good 20 cars stopped and waiting patiently  on MLK while a flock of geese crossed the road.

3.  We celebrated the birthday of our favorite set of twins, a perfect party where all of our children played happily amidst wonderful sea-themed décor.

4.  Raking leaves, when done together on a perfect November afternoon, is actually a fun recreational activity.

5.  Jumping in leaves-- even better.

6.  Going out to eat at Dewey's.  Need I say more?

7.  A little girl who says "I love you" out of the blue.

8.  A little boy who offers his own quarters to pay for parking. 

9.  Even though we were busy/cleaning almost all day, I still had time for:  a resale event, shopping at the Botanical Garden Store open house, AND sitting on the couch with iced coffee this afternoon.

10.  There is still one more day of this lovely weekend to come.

November 8

It was a good Friday.

 Tonight, I am grateful for:

*This morning, leaving the gym after a 7.5 mile run, the crisp wintry air in my lungs, snow dusted ground against crimson trees and a glowing sunrise sky to start the day.

*A field trip with my students, the chance to get out of the classroom, a glimpse of a steely grey Lake Erie after lunch, conversation with a colleague on a calm bus ride home.  They may make me crazy at school but I was certainly grateful for all those cell phones on the drive today.

*A perfect Friday night with our friends, a shared meal and birthday brownies for two wonderful four-year-olds.  Our four children, playing together, throwing balloon fish and giggling like mad.  I am so grateful for the comfort and ease of time with our "chosen family".

*a fluffy clean dog, hot tea, and good TV to wind the evening down.

November 6 and 7

Tonight I am grateful for patient blog readers who will forgive a lapse in posting.  Midweek evenings on the heels of daylight savings time and a cold front do not inspire effulgent thankfulness.  Add to that the dark and the cold and a group of 8th graders with ADHD and an attitude, and these are days that try men's souls... or test one's capacity for gratitude, at any rate.

These are the days when it is the most vital to practice.

Tonight I am thankful for a movie night, Harry Potter and my husband's excellent popcorn, my two littles with me, snuggled against the chilly night, full of questions and excitement.

I am thankful for the challenge and reward in teaching a student who truly wants to learn, who has just been waiting to be taught.

I am thankful for my little girl in her ballet tights and pointed feet, copying each pose in her Miss Tutu book.

I am thankful for my boy, lover of math, doing two-digit, two step math problems in his head. Because he likes to.

I am thankful for my healthy family and a warm house, for books on tape and friendly conversation.  I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday.

November 5

Today I am grateful for an hour of sleep this morning, a day off from the gym so I could vote.  I am grateful to live in a place where I have the right to vote,  make my voice heard and work towards positive change alongside my neighbors.  As I filled in oval after oval, saying yes to the opportunity to pay more taxes... I realized I am grateful for a government that works to use my contributions for the greater good (at least, I hope it will be for the greater good.  As long as a few key issues pass...). I am grateful for a few moments of playing playmobil with my daughter, snuggling and chatting with my son.  I am grateful for warm tea and a warm dog and time spent with my husband, who always makes me laugh.

November 4

I am thankful for a quiet start to the week, for great co-workers who are flexible and help me rise to the challenge of each day.  I am grateful for the sunshine that greeted me at 7am on my drive to work.  I am grateful for a good spinning class, that I have found a new instructor whose teaching I enjoy.  I am grateful for an easy evening with my children, a swim and a drive and pizza-in-front-of-tv dinner, quality time together just us three.  I am grateful for the excellent family locker rooms at the JCC.  I am grateful that my son enjoys his schoolwork, that he cooperates with homework even at 8:00pm, that he "shows his thinking" on math word problems by writing, "aha!" next to his answer.  I am grateful that Ivy's first parent-teacher conference was a grand success and that my little girl is a joy to have in class, just as she is a joy to have at home.  I am grateful for bedtime snuggles and hot tea, for sugar-maple reds lining South Woodland, for my washing machine and my dog.

November 3

I am grateful for an extra hour on a glorious fall day, for relaxing morning, french toast breakfast, cooking and cleaning and baths for the kids, all before 10:30 in the morning.  I am grateful for golden fall sunshine and intoxicating overlays of red and orange in the blue-sky light. I am grateful for Wade Oval and the Cleveland Museum of Art and Lakeview -- these treasures in my backyard.  Perfection on this perfect day, wandering the sculpture garden, looking at the giant koi, watching wedding photography in action over the glittering reflections in the pond.  I am grateful that my children are at home in  museums, that they know their favorite paths through the galleries, that they move past the art with respect and with joy.  I am grateful for quick kisses in fall sunshine and a happy running spaniel.   I am grateful for early dinners and family yoga and bedtime an hour ahead.  I am grateful for this moment of quiet to type in the quiet of my house, a bit of calm before the week to come.

November 2

Today I am grateful that my husband is so very good at giving a back massage.  And that the leaves are somehow still so brilliant, even in the midst of a soggy grey November day.  I am grateful for a morning spent resale shopping with my boy, an afternoon spent by myself at Starbucks, an evening spent surrounded by friends.  I am grateful for coffee.  I am grateful for the small-town feel of this city I call home, for chili cook-off fundraisers full of neighbors and friends, familiar faces all around.  I am grateful for the funny things my children say.  I am grateful for the comfort and ease of our lives, that we can spend the afternoon at a birthday party, doing nothing but watching a group of beautiful little ones run and tumble and laugh.  I am grateful for time with my mom, for quick lunches and snatches of conversation, grateful we live close enough to take these regular visits for granted.  I am grateful for my cozy new downstairs office, for my laptop to type on, and for my large collection of blank books.  I am grateful for the internet for linking me to friends, for the all the connections I have made in my life and the joy of seeing smiles on their faces even when we are far apart.   Gratitude comes easily on a Saturday.  I'm grateful for that, too.

November 1

Tonight I am grateful for the brilliant splashes of red and gold leaves against the grey of leafless branches.  I am grateful for mild weather and a quiet day.  I am grateful that I had time for a lunch break today.  I am grateful for my wonderful teaching assistant, who anticipates what the classroom needs and steps in seamlessly to cover in a crisis.  I am grateful to be the one who a child comes to in a crisis, the person they ask to see. I am grateful for my strong legs that can run and walk and reach and play.  I am grateful for quiet and comfortable Friday nights, for talking with my wonderful friend as our children play together peacefully in the next room.  I am grateful for princess dresses and fairy wings and the intense beauty of my son and daughter. I am grateful for my dog, her gaze and floppy ears and love that radiates out from her, and the way she puts her paw on my arm.  I am grateful for two-parent bedtimes and the fact that I don't have to fold all this laundry alone.  I am grateful that tomorrow is Saturday.