Three Thanks Returns
Never before has Three Thanks felt more relevant. If you’re new here, then a brief recap of what’s here:
Three Thanks is a place to jot down three things for which we are thankful every week. Simple things are often the hardest to do, so I hope we can do this together. Once a week I will post three things I am thankful for, and you can simply reply in the comments section with your bits of gratitude. It’s simple, and it’s a secret happiness ingredient. Live healthy.
Today, I am thankful for … Max, music and good weather following a stormy scare.
October 7 Missing September
Stealthy September slipped softly, swiftly, sweetly by. It’s okay thought, we shared good times and remarkable sunrise and sunsets together.
Despite my musical misgivings, I really do like October and today I am thankful for …
.. an overnight rain shower serenade.
.. a very helpful Amazon customer service rep that kept me from going over the edge on such a simple thing.
.. time to share a beautifully crafted story with good friends.
August 27 Chaos
I’ll be honest, yesterday was lousy. Not the typical – oh, it’s Monday – lousy, but a chaotic storm of, pardon the phrase, “WTF”. (And no, I am not talking about twerking.) It’s hard to find gratitude in a steeping soup of chaos. You have to swirl your spoon around – a lot – and hope little bits pop up.
Yesterday, and today, I am thankful …
.. for leftovers, tea that’s already made, and clean sheets – the things that you don’t have to think about making, or doing, when your mind is not at rest.
.. for a fits-on-one-hand count-down to an escape.
.. for that pesky chaos – lest it not drown us in our soup.
For what are you thankful?
August 19 Music
I am running late this morning, I have a Brandi Carlile playlist cranked up which is supposed to make me “go faster” – it works in the car! – but instead of rapidly pulling myself and my stuff together for the long Monday ahead I have been taking a really long shower, singing Hallelujah (hoarsely) into a hairbrush and making numerous, and wholly unnecessary outfit changes.
And, I am happy to be running late.
Today I am thankful for the singers, songwriters, soul-spilling music makers and their every oscillation.
For what are you thankful?
August 12th Discovery
I thought I could abandon Three Thanks since I *thought* I had learned the habit of gratitude. That was true, for the most part .. okay no, it was true for the minor part. What I discovered for myself over the last 8 months is that gratitude fuels my happiness super power. It fends off a seemingly unending supply of kryptonite-esque doubt, and fear, and other icky stuff.
So today, I am getting my three thanks back. Go ahead. You can plug in too if you want – it’s a clean, sustainable energy source.
I am thankful ..
… in a little over a year from now I’ll be traveling with dear friends into a hot dust bowl of delight – making new discoveries about myself.
… for something called “Eggtoberfest” and the joy it brings, even before it happens.
… for a semi-stray kitten and her semi-sassy attitude.
For what are you thankful?
December 17 Reflection
There are not enough candles to light every corner darkened by the last few days, but the light in our collective soul must not be snuffed out.
Today I am thankful for the warm embrace of friends, for the gentle spirit of my life, and for moments of reflection.
For what are you thankful?
December 10 Frailty
If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow’s rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime’s argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are
Today I am thankful for connections, however fragile, to wonderful people. Take flight, Lalo. We will find you on the other side.
December 3 Stockings
The weather has been in a word, balmy. We could have driven the entire day with the top down on what felt like the perfect September day – in December. We tossed a dash of pine onto the mantel to trick ourselves into thinking “Baby, it’s cold outside.”
Today I am thankful for
.. knit stockings.
.. fresh pine garland.
.. and little Santas carved from soft blocks of wood.
For what are you thankful?
November 20 Fallen
I was sitting on my back porch yesterday and was reminded that I had forgotten to post Three Thanks by this leaf .. which drifted so close to me that I just held out my hand and it landed there. I snapped this awkward picture that I munged via some random iOS photography app, and went back about my business making chicken soup and cleaning the bathroom. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and company is on the way.
Today I am thankful,
.. for Mister Clean Magic Erasers.
.. for three cancelled meetings that transformed into three quiet hours of happy work.
.. for falling leaves, and kittens.
For what are you thankful?
November 5 Boots
We have a vagabond. I named her Boots. Not so original, I know – but I was trying not to get (too) attached. She’s sweet, and skinny, and definitely an independent cuss. Monti has already hissed and spit out her disapproval. But Boots, well she’s a honey badger in a kitten’s fur.
This week so many people have been displaced, and are starting to feel the vagabond sting. It will be a long haul; I hope we are resilient in our attention through the holidays.
Today I am thankful
.. for Boots, even if she strays.
.. for everyone that showed up this weekend and gave so generously to support the American Red Cross Sandy Relief efforts.
.. for violas, pansies, and rose-resistant gloves.
For what are you thankful?