Thankful

Hello, friends. It seems like every autumn, my family experiences a maelstrom of work- and school-related insanity. Things are INTENSE. This year, we made some strategic choices to minimize negative stress (for example, we didn’t sign up the children for any after-school activities. No team sports. No music lessons. No nature camp. What on earth do we do after school? We read books, draw pictures, garden, ride bikes and cook dinner. It’s really nice.) but even so, the Thanksgiving long weekend couldn’t come at a better time.

This past weekend, we had a breakfast toast marathon, drove out to a farm to pick up our Thanksgiving turkey, had friends over for the celebratory dinner, basked in the sunshine on our patio, rode our bikes along the waterfront path, and harvested the last root vegetables from our garden. (It’s weird, though: there are still half-ripe tomatoes clinging to their vines, so we may get a few more of those AFTER the beets and carrots have all come in.) We also did some cleaning and organizing around the house. Oh, and Nick and I each did about three hours’ work yesterday, to get a jump on the week. And here’s the magical part: the whole weekend felt pleasantly productive, not pressured and frantic. It was amazing. (It may never happen again, which is why I’m memorializing it here.)

And I had lots of time to step back and think, I am so outrageously privileged. Here is a very partial list of things for which I am thankful, this autumn of 2014:

– My spouse is my best friend and my ally in all things

– I feel lucky to be the mother of my children

– I have some genuinely exciting things happening with recent and new writing projects

– I feel strongly connected to my local community

– I feel strongly connected to my family, despite the geographical distance between us

– I have dear and brilliant and generous friends

– Every year, I care less about what other people think of me

– I have the time and good health to be thankful for my enormous good fortune

What about you, friends? How is your autumn going, and what are you thankful for?