The mess. (30 days of thankfulness - day 23)

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So we all have messy houses most of the time, right?  We don't need to prove that.  But I spent a lot of my life trying to be perfect, so I want to practice being thankful today for the mess.

The mess means I have people.  My people to take care of.  Energetic, joyful voices filling my home, defining my work and my mission.

The mess definitely means that life is not perfect.

Beauty is important, and my soul craves it.  It's essential to look for and notice beauty everyday. But here's the thing - even the mess can be beautiful.  You just have to change perspective and get past the fact that there's dried egg on your chin from sticky toddler hands and glitter all over the floor and paint smeared on a freshly cleaned shirt and an entire box of q-tips mysteriously scattered all over the bathroom.  Then you look into the eyes of your child or husband or yourself in the mirror and realize life is messy and that's what makes it precious.

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During the month of November, I'm practicing "30 days of thankfulness" - will you join me?  Use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to voice your thankfulness for something every day in November.  My hope is that this daily routine will create in me a heart of thankfulness and gratitude, no matter the day or month or situation.

Thirty-five. (30 days of thankfulness - day 22)

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On Thanksgiving Day, I celebrated thirty-five years on this earth.  How did that happen?  Wasn't I just turning 25, arriving home from dinner with friends in Nashville, and then stunned by a surprise party at our little abode in Hillsboro Village?  Back then, I was about 85 times tanner than I am now, with bushier eyebrows and a lot more makeup.  I guess I had more to prove then.  I certainly haven't "arrived" and keep discovering more about myself that I want to refine and change.  But there is something about the thirties that has helped me settle into more of who I really am.  And it gives me joy to realize that most of the people who were at that party are still close friends.

I love when my birthday falls on Thanksgiving, because I usually keep forgetting it's my birthday.  This introvert is perfectly fine with that; I'd rather be wrapped up in the wonderfulness of the holiday.  This year we got to spend Thanksgiving weekend with our dear friends Paul and Brooke in smalltown Athens, TX, about an hour from Dallas.  Over the course of this weekend, I was reminded again how much my soul craves smallness, how the love of a small town's simplicity and slower pace of life is deep in my bones.

The day was so memorable from beginning to end.  I was with my husband and daughter, my two best gifts.  It was a coolish breezy fall day, causing brilliant red, orange and yellow leaves to shower down on us the entire day.  A gorgeous table with mismatched chairs was set outdoors; about 20 of us held hands and gathered around for a prayer.  These were precious people who made us feel like part of the family. There were wild red wagon rides, moments in the wooden swing, chalk drawings, and some light drizzle to drive us inside to embrace the coziness.  And at the end, a double rainbow arched across the sky, God's little promise to me.

Another year of this perfectly imperfect life, and I couldn't be more thankful.

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During the month of November, I'm practicing "30 days of thankfulness" - will you join me?  Use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to voice your thankfulness for something every day in November.  My hope is that this daily routine will create in me a heart of thankfulness and gratitude, no matter the day or month or situation.

 

Lifelong friends. (30 days of thankfulness - day 12)

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I've been given the gift of several friends I know will be there for life.  Today, I am specifically thinking about Christy and Angela, my dear college friends from Belmont.  We've been friends ever since the day we met - the first day of freshman year when their rooms were decorated in life-size cardboard cutouts of country music stars, and mine was blasting with gangsta rap and D.C. Talk.  They both still live in the Nashville area, and not a day goes by that I don't wish we lived close again. 

Here we are last year in Nashville with all our babies...

And here we are in college, when overalls were obviously in fashion because we wore them every single day...

I could fill a book with the memories I have with these two women.  Practically peeing on ourselves with laughter?  Check.  Loving each other unconditionally?  Check.  Friends for life?  Check.

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During the month of November, I'm practicing "30 days of thankfulness" - will you join me?  Use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to voice your thankfulness for something every day in November.  My hope is that this daily routine will create in me a heart of thankfulness and gratitude, no matter the day or month or situation.

And this crazy brood too. (30 days of thankfulness - day 6)

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They gave me a home when I first moved to Dallas, they're the ones who first made me an aunt.  I'm so thankful for my brother Glen, sister-in-law Trish and their three wonderful kiddos who live just 30 minutes away.  We might not always live this close.  I'm thankful that we do, though, especially while our kids are still young.  And heck - while we're still young!

Love you guys!

~ ~ ~

During the month of November, I'm practicing "30 days of thankfulness" - will you join me?  Use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to voice your thankfulness for something every day in November.  My hope is that this daily routine will create in me a heart of thankfulness and gratitude, no matter the day or month or situation.

This crazy brood. (30 days of thankfulness - day 5)

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Thankful today for my cousins back in New Jersey, a hilarious and crazy brood that I'm blessed to call "family."

They're still without power, 7 days and counting.  And if I know them well, they're probably helping everyone around them that they can.

Not pictured: Cousin Brian who was a Barney-loving toddler when I babysat him for an entire summer during college.  Now he's studying abroad in Australia, swimming with sharks.  Time flies.

~ ~ ~

During the month of November, I'm practicing "30 days of thankfulness" - will you join me?  Use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to voice your thankfulness for something every day in November.  My hope is that this daily routine will create in me a heart of thankfulness and gratitude, no matter the day or month or situation.

Today I...

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...Slept through my 6:30am alarm.  Dashed around the house trying to get myself and my daughter in the car so I could drop her off at a friend's house and make my 9am appointment for a much-needed haircut.

...Kissed and thanked my husband who quickly whipped up a tea latté without my even asking and handed it to me as I was running out the door.

...Dropped my daughter off at my friend Melissa's house where she played with dollhouses and bears and hats and books.  Caught up with my beloved hairstylist/friend Sylvia.  Rejoiced again in how much I love having bangs and wondered where they've been all my life.

...Retrieved my daughter and asked if she wanted to go on a date with Mommy for smoothies.  Her reply: "Ohhh-KAYYYYYYY!"  Headed to Southpaw's for a Chocolate Nutty-Monkey smoothie and Green Gobbler sandwich with watermelon and orange slices and a side of silliness.

 ...Stopped by our store where I always love being on Fridays when new produce is arriving.  Butternut and sweet dumpling squash...swiss chard...sweet potatoes...

...Delivered some tea to a mama friend who was having a rough day.  Sat on the porch with her and her baby girl while my big girl played on the sidewalk barefoot, collecting acorns and berries.

...Stepped over fake play food and wooden tea set on the living room floor and put on Dora The Explorer without shame so I could cook dinner in peace.

...Made this for dinner, but instead of quinoa, I added roasted sweet potatoes and a side of chicken sausage.  Absolutely delish.

...Gave my daughter a bath, during which she asked me to cradle her plastic walrus bath toy in my arms like a baby.  I complied.

...Drank a glass and a half of wine - first, a leftover Syrah and then a Malbec sent over by the aforementioned mama friend as an unecessary but appreciated return gift for the tea.

...Felt excited at the sound of pouring rain outside (finally!) and the momentary flickering of the lights.  Perfect early fall evening.

...Danced in the livingroom with my husband and daughter, twirled until we were dizzy and fell down.

...Read Goodnight, Moon and The Animal "eestra" (Orchestra) three times each before the little one finally drifted off to sleep.

...Reveled in a quiet house after the rest of my family was in bed at 9:05pm. 

...Ate no less than three chocolate chip cookies with my bedtime tea and didn't regret it one bit.

...Realized that not all days are this imperfectly perfect, filled with such glimmering small treasures.  And that's why it's ever so important to celebrate those that are.