Last Bit Of Thanks

Well, that time has come, this will be my last thankful post.  I had an awesome time with this blogging project. There were so many things that did not make it to my daily entries.  There were days I had so much to be thankful for I can't decide what to write.  And some days I didn't want to be thankful because I get focused on the bad events that happened to my friends, family or even to myself. To be thankful at those times seem almost too self-indulgent.  But those were also the days that I had to stop the pity party so I can find even the smallest bit of gratitude-worthy moment.  If that is self-indulgent then so be it.

And maybe that is the point?  To be thankful one must look beyond the past, the drudgery, aches, pains, sinfulness and trespasses to allow the light of forgiveness, faith, hope and love to shine in those dark places. I have been pondering how one who does not have faith can be truly thankful.  My attempts at a gratitude-filled life has directed me to a place where there is a God. Outside of that faith in God it would have been very hard to find (sacrificial) gratitude.  So if you're one of those faith-less but thankful people we need to chat LOL.

 So I went from self-indulgent gratitude to sacrificial gratitude. I told you I'm not romantic LOL.

I plan to continue this exercise but I promise not to subject you to it for a whole year! I keep a gratitude notebook so this wasn't really new to me.  What was new was that I had to share it here on my blog for all four of my devoted followers to read ;-)

So as a final act of blogging thankfulness, today I am thankful for the many lessons I have learned these last 30 days. To all of you who came here to indulge me on this project, thank you.  To my husband and children who are quick to find reasons for me to be thankful about, to and for them I am perpetually grateful.

Until next year!!! For now let the season of Advent begin!  Happy Feast Day of St. Andrew and don't forget to pray that Christmas novena.

Peace out!

Leftovers

I can't believe these 30 Days of Thanks are almost over!  I enjoyed posting everyday, there was no shortage of material to write about.  Even on the brink of tiredness I can always count on my husband or the kids to tell me what I should be thankful about. I'll write more about that tomorrow.

For today, I am thankful for leftovers. It's one less meal to think about and some of these goodies taste better the day after.  For two days in a row I've had a tryptophan-induced drowsiness.  Hopefully after tomorrow all the turkey will be gone and I can go back to eating rice and fish ;-)

Okay, off to take this sleepiness to bed.  

Did you have Thanksgiving dinner leftovers today?

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

Just got home from a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at my sister-in-law's home.  The food was, as expected, delicious, I was in a food coma on the couch shortly after dinner.  I am thankful that no one woke me up LOL. There's so much to be thankful for today - family, food, laughter and the occasions that bring all of those together.

I am thankful I don't have to line up at Best Buy, but boy, I missed out on a good deal on that Kindle Fire HD :-)

I am thankful for the Lord's generous providence- in giving me a home away from my land of birth and country of citizenship (those are two different places), a family away from my own family, friends away from the friends I grew up with and the universal Faith that is the same wherever I go. For all of these, today, I am truly thankful.

Tomorrow I will be thankful for P90x ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you all had a good one.

A Thankful Post In Pictures

It is an unusual Thanksgiving Eve for us.  We're not running around checking off chore lists and preparing the house to host tomorrow's dinner.  Instead we are leisurely preparing our contribution to the said dinner that my sister-in-law is hosting.

It was a beautiful morning with snow (and ice!) on the ground.  Driving was certainly treacherous but the walking wasn't nearly as bad.  The cracking sound of the ice breaking under my boots was quite enjoyable.  The kids were up early ready to raid what meager snow there was to play with.  Friends came to play.  Cousins came to visit.  Baked goods were consumed along with a copious amount of caffeine.  All in all it was a good day as we anticipate tomorrow's festivities.

So in photos here's my thankful post for today -

getting ready to make six cheesecakes

my trusty assistant - this is the first year I'm letting her help with the cheesecake, she quit early it is a tasky recipe

she's been baking since age 5

getting the baby ready to play out in the snow - she's not only my kitchen assistant she also doubles as nanny to the little one  ;-)

middle child trying to hide from the snowball fight

boys and snow - a match made in heaven

cousins are home from college/grad school -yay!

Evangelii Gaudium

I should really start baking cheesecake but on this snowy day, I am ever so tempted to curl up on the couch to digest the recently published 224- page (in book form) Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. Okay, I'm being facetious but I am in a reading, reflecting, introspecting kind of mood today.  With the opening paragraph started in this manner, I am ready to dig in:

THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.

I know the joy of the Gospel, I also know the challenge it poses especially when the baggage we all carry weighs that joy down. As we enter the Advent season, that joy will continue to be challenged with frenzied schedules and the enduring noise that will rob us of peace and virtue.  It will also be challenged with things/events we have no control over.

The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. 

Okay, so two paragraphs down 223 pages to go! LOL  Gah, I might just start working on that cheesecake ;-)

Today, for all 224 pages of this new Apostolic Exhortation, for the reading challenge it presents to my heart, mind and soul, for the Pope, I am truly thankful.

Left-Overs And Good Beer

We're on Thanksgiving break.  I was very tempted to give school work to the kids today but one look at the absence of check marks on my Fall cleaning checklist made me change my mind.  Despite not hosting Thanksgiving this year, we're attacking our list as if we are having a party.  And I do still have to bake half a dozen of my mom's world famous secret recipe cheesecakes. I make them once or twice a year (it's task-y!) so I always make enough to give away.

It's busy seasons like these when I am truly thankful for left-overs.  One dinner I don't have to make is always a good thing.  Then tonight this free time was also punctuated by a treat - a good porter.  I'm a little bit of a beer snob.  I don't drink as much as I should LOL but when I do it can't be just your ordinary canned light beer (I'm talking about the typical bud light's, etc..)  Tonight was a perfect night for such a treat with the anticipation of snow overnight (I love snow! with beer LOL). My husband found this yummy porter that has hints of vanilla that tasted clean, no icky after taste and didn't give me heart burn.  It even had snowdrift for a name. I loved it. We've got a keeper!

So tonight, for left-overs and good beer, I am truly thankful. Keep warm out there!

Day of Rest

Today's thankful post is meant for yesterday.

We love our Sundays.  It is really the only day of the week that has a restful, soothing rhythm.  Even as we prepare to go to CCD classes and Mass, there isn't this sort of frantic "gotta get it done now!" feel about it. This wasn't always the case, we've had our years of busy, stressful Sundays.

As the kids have gotten older and more responsible about preparing for Sunday, our mornings are calmer while the afternoons are leisurely. 

As we run from pillar to post in the whirlwind of a busy life, there is a need more than ever to temper those bursting calendars with a day set aside for rest, for God.

Yesterday and for every Sunday, a day set aside for worship and rest, I will be forever thankful.

Warmth

 For someone who was born and raised in the tropics I sure have a special spot in my soul for cold weather.  As a typical homebody nothing pleases me more than a warm, cozy spot on the couch safe from the mockery of the frigid outdoors. A roaring fire would be so good just about now except for the fact that our chimney damper broke.  Until we get it fixed the image of a roaring fire on my computer screen will have to do.

I don't like getting cold.  I tend to over-dress at the slightest hint of chilly air. But I'm also not a wuss.  As long as I am properly bundled up I actually enjoy a winter's hike rewarded with a cup of hot chocolate.

For the blessing of a warm, snug home on bitterly cold days, I am truly thankful.

Falling In Love

I don't really consider myself a hopeless romantic. Every hint of romantic notion that makes it's way in my life gets a quick dose of pragmatism. I hope that doesn't make me boring or insufferable.

But I do remember every moment of falling in love.  First with Christ, how He swept me off my feet when He called me by name.  I knew. I was loved, I was in love. I was ready, willing and able to take it all the way to the monastery or wherever far-flung place He wanted me to go.  That far flung place ended up to be in Ohio LOL.

I remember falling in love with my now husband.  He too swept my off my feet. I knew. He would look at me and I knew I couldn't live this life without him. He still gives me that look everyday.  It's the kind that promised forever. It is a look that only lovers understood.

I remember falling in love with my first child.  He who nearly lost his life at birth.  When he looked at me after his first breathe I knew. I cried. I cried from the depths of my soul in a way that I never thought was possible of me, the unromantic. It was a joyful cry I couldn't stop or control. And with every child that same emotion of motherly love, tender, sublime in it's uniqueness is a kind of love I cannot put into words.

I remember falling in love with life.  After and despite so many heart-aches, trials and tribulations I knew, I remember Love.  I know that all will pass, that all isn't meaningless. That love exists in the everyday.  That through the romance there is true love. And even the pragmatist in me knows that falling is a worthy endeavor.

Today, for the falling in love, I am truly thankful.  

Coffee

I wasn't a natural coffee lover.  Tea was my hot drink of choice until I got married.  Coffee slowly eased into my daily life as it became one with my husband's. Since I wasn't about to make a tea convert out of him, I converted myself towards the java. As the old saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them.

It became some sort of a ritual between us to drink coffee as we chatted about our day. Then I noticed that he makes MY coffee better that I could.  So then it became a ritual for him to make my coffee (or in his absence, my kids will make it).  I know it's pathetic that I can't even make my own coffee!!! I remember telling my neighbor this once and she told me not to ever learn! LOL

Today, for that cup of coffee that I never have to make for myself, I am truly thankful ;-)

Silence

Today I am thankful for silence, in all it's forms.  The silence of the early morning hours.  The silence of a lazy afternoon's nap.  The silence of prayer.  And my new favorite form of silence, the silence of disconnecting from social media.  It took me a while to realize how much noise it brought to my life and not always in a good way.  I'm contemplating leaving it forever. I figure that those who really want to be a part of my life outside of social media will find a way to get a hold of me one way or another.

Another form of silence I am thankful for is about to commence here shortly....sleep ;-)

Today, for silence, my trustworthy companion since childhood, I am truly thankful.

Will The Real Teacher Please Stand Up?

As I type this the man is teaching his children Science.  This year it is Anatomy.  The man is a natural teacher, he has an amazing ability to make otherwise complicated subjects easily understandable to the rest of us mortal beings with average intelligence.  The kids are always wide-eyed through his lectures,  they ask intelligent questions and they retain most everything that's been discussed.  I'm pretty sure at the end of the school year my children can go straight to medical school!  LOL

I haven't told the kids this but even after a few weeks of no Science classes, they are still ahead of schedule.  The man plowed through my lesson plans and did a month's worth of lessons in a couple of weeks.  I told him we should record/videotape his lectures and sell it.  He thinks I have too-high an opinion of him. I still plan on recording one of his lectures, if not Science, the Art classes.

For the person who is the real teacher in the house, everyday, I am truly thankful.

Insanity

 

Boy, I must be running out of material to be thankful about! LOL  Well, here's the deal, I've picked up Insanity again, so yes, I am officially certifiable :-)

I have this theory that once you have done Insanity you can not downgrade, the next goal is a 10k which I honestly have no plans of doing (yet). The reason I'm thankful for this brand of fitness is because it got me off my tush and really helped me battle the effects of seasonal affective disorder this past Winter.  It also had me pushing myself so much harder than I have ever done in the past.  It is also responsible for the happiness of my children that I can keep up with their running around without catching my breath.

So today, as I run out of trivial things to be thankful about, for Insanity, I am truly thankful ;-)

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Books For The Sheer Pleasure

 

My thankful post is a day late for a very good reason, I think.  Yesterday afternoon was one of those warm, stormy days spent in various forms of indolence.  Some of us napped, others played with imaginary creatures while a couple of us nestled on the couch with our beloved books. 

Reading is my preferred vice. I go through phases where all I read for that year or season is of the same genre. In the early years of the blogging boom I found myself reading less books and more opinion/inspirational blogs.  That interest have waxed and waned through the years.  One can only get lost in  the introspection for so long before it becomes tiresome and preachy.  And when that happens a good fiction is always a good remedy.

I finished reading Willa Cather's The Professor's House yesterday.  I read as the storm raged outside, while the dinner simmered, as the dirty dishes stewed in the sink, and through the usual hubbub of my household.  It was glorious.  We won't talk about how I paid for the lazy time LOL.

For the sheer pleasure of escaping through a book, yesterday, I was truly thankful.

*ps - I hope you are all safe after that storm. 

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Bliss Of The Wandering

Not all those who wander are lost - J.R.R. Tolkien

And if we're lost, then we are lost together - Blue Rodeo

Today was not particularly glorious.  The clouds obscured the beauty of blue skies, there was a nip in the air that wasn't really comforting. Every bit of me yearned for the mall outdoors.  I asked my husband what he wanted to do, he said he just wanted to see trees.  I understood what he meant. Cabin fever in November.  It seems we have been home for so long as he recovers.  We miss the thrill of geocaching with the long hikes through the woods. We miss wandering in the outdoors.

So today was the day to see the trees and try our luck with the gps-aided treasure hunt.  The path was child-friendly and quiet.  I could breathe again.  The kind of breath I didn't realize I held in for so long.  It was a good day to get lost - in my own unencumbered thoughts, in the beauty of the world around me, in the joyful curiosity of children, in the gift of grace freely bestowed.

Today, for the bliss of the wandering, I am truly thankful.

The Joy of Laughter

"Long face, rough manner, ridiculous appearance, unfriendly attitude. Is that how you hope to inspire others to follow Christ?" - St. Jose Maria Escriva

The other day, after an almost wistful conversation with my husband I asked him " so where do we go from here?"  He stared at me for a moment, a thoughtful glint in his eyes then he replied " well, I guess we have to stay married for the rest of our lives now, we seem to be a good fit!"

And this is how we have endured 17 years together - laughing through the travails, the blood, sweat and tears on this side of heaven.  Don't get me wrong, we aren't always in the throes of hysterical joy.  Our faces can be sometimes long as we shoulder the afflictions of real life. But I don't think we have ever gone through a whole day without finding the smallest joy to share a much needed laugh.  When those seasons of lament threaten to overstay it's welcome I try to remind myself of this quote from St. Teresa of Avila : " from sour faced saints, O Lord, deliver us!"

For the many moments of laughter etched in the walls of this home,  for the humor that reminds us not to always take everything (including ourselves) so seriously,  for the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is joy and the virtue of cheerfulness whose perfection we desire,  today I am truly thankful.

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Routine And Rituals

 

As much as I'd like to think I'm this really cool, exciting chick that thrives on the excitement of the unpredictable, I am really a lover of stability. Routine and rituals are the perfect soothing balm to my introversion.  That or I'm just getting old.

There is something about the daily routine that keeps me calm, even if some parts of that routine are not necessary calming (like laundry). The keeping of home, routine breaks to sip a cup of hot tea, the rituals of prayer, the usual morning walks, the predictable dinners, all of these help me to have a sense of "home".  I have learned to appreciate these so much more this year.  In between those moments of grieving and/or stressing out about the unknown, the predictability of the rituals and routine of my home life brought me calm even if at times short-lived. 

And that is, I think, the nature of the Divine - predictable in His Mercy, reliable in His love, calming through the rough times, generous in grace.

For the beauty of the Divine in what is otherwise a tediously predictable life of routine and rituals, today, I am truly thankful.

Gratitude And The Super-Typhoon

So many of you have asked me how my family fared in the recent super-typhoon in the Philippines.  I waited to post about it until I heard first hand from back home. Today what I feared was confirmed, my cousin's home was ruined along with all their belongings.  It has been a traumatic experience for them and for their neighborhood. Their lives are forever changed. 

Today, as difficult as it is to raise a prayer of gratitude, I have to still be thankful that my family is alive.  I am thankful that help is/will be available.  I am thankful for the virtue of hope because in these moments of tragedy that flicker of hope is how homes, lives and faith get re-built and renewed.

Please keep the Philippines in your prayers. This is a good time to give not just from surplus but even out of poverty - For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood. - Mark 12:44

The following photos are from my second-cousin (which in my country is considered my niece):

downed power lines

the roof of their home blown over, everything inside was ruined

devastation in their neighborhood

*update - apparently no relief services has arrived in their town since the storm ended.  I'm assuming all the focus is currently in Tacloban, which is the hardest hit.

Thank You, Snow!

 

Snow greeted us this morning.  As expected, it fell overnight to the delight of everyone over here.  Yesterday we labored on the yard, cleaning up the last debris of leaves, dead annuals and hibernating perennials to prepare for the arrival of winter. Outdoor toys were stored as every remnant of our cherished outdoor living found their way back in the sheds.

I am ready for this.  I love snow, I love being "trapped" in a warm home even as there are busy chores that need my attention.  I love traipsing in the snow too, there is a sense of quiet and calm about a world encased in white.  And for today, for this temporary gift of snow, poetry and all,  I am truly thankful.

Thank You, Stark Beauty of Daily Mass

 

Yesterday I wrote about the grandeur of the Mass and my affinity towards pomp and circumstance when it comes to the liturgy.  That thankful moment was brought to you by the Sunday Mass with all the trappings of chant, incense and Latin responses.

By contrast at daily Mass there is no chant, incense or Latin, there isn't even a hint of music depending on which priest celebrates. There was nothing that appealed to my senses and yet the same sublime beauty is there.  I am equally at home in a no-music liturgy with the prescribed silences properly observed as I would be if Mozart was playing.

When I first started attending daily Mass it was out of a need for a meaningful "me" time. I wanted to fall in love again - with my life and with God.  And when you want to fall in love you seek the company of your beloved.  Memories of my youth as I was first falling in love with Christ fueled this re-seeking. I wanted to rekindle that through the daily graces offered at Mass.

I continue to go to daily Mass finding myself with various reasons each day/week, some I wouldn't have chosen for myself  LOL.  But it is there in the quiet, short daily Mass, in the absence of pomp and circumstance that I find the daily beauty of the God who loved me first and seeks my company at the beginning of each day. Deo Gratias.