Good Gravy & Four Other Things I’m Grateful for This Thanksgiving

How was your Thanksgiving? Good in every way, I hope, and I can’t think of a better day to for a peek inside my Gratitude Journal. Today was kind of a weird day, but weird in a good way. It was just Paul, Cody, Nick and me plus a few family guests and while I stressed a lot about making everything perfect it ended up being a pretty good, and interesting day. One thing I learned, though, is that the older I get (Thanksgiving was also my birthday this year) the less I want to do on a holiday other than enjoy the people I’m spending it with and eating lots of stuffing. Stuffing is the best, isn’t it? Or do you call it dressing? Either way, it’s the best Thanksgiving side dish and nobody can convince me otherwise.

It seems like it should be easy to come up with entries for my gratitude journal on a day like Thanksgiving and since it was also my birthday and Cody’s birthday this list is definitely an easy one to make.

1. Birthday Wishes – I’m so grateful for all the wishes I received, not only for myself, but also for Cody. Even sweeter is the fact so many people took the time out of their holiday to send a text or write a post on Facebook. I hope I didn’t miss anyone when I wrote my thank-you comments.
2. Good Gravy – I’m not sure why I feel so accomplished when I make a gravy that isn’t lumpy and actually tastes really good, but I do. I’m especially grateful that I was successful today because you simply can’t eat turkey and mashed potatoes without gravy. Lots of gravy.
3. Our Guests – I know I stressed a lot about having guests for the holiday, but I’m super grateful they were here and that they were (mostly) understanding when dinner was a tiny bit later than I originally planned. Hello. Good gravy doesn’t just magically happen. It takes time. More time for me than most, probably.
4. Help in the Kitchen – This one seems kind of small to mention, but it really meant a lot to me that Paul and Nick helped with the kitchen cleanup after we ate. They washed and dried most of the dishes and filled the dishwasher with the rest. They made a really great team and I hope I remembered to tell them both I was grateful.
5. A Morning Run – Realistically I probably didn’t have time for a run, but when I woke up and saw the gorgeous blue sky and sunshine after yesterday’s non-stop pouring rain I simply had to get outside. It was a quick two miles and I’m grateful to my body for every footfall.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine, even it wasn’t your birthday too.