10 Things I’m Grateful for this Thanksgiving

With friends and family on both sides of the border, over and above practicing daily gratitude, I love being able to celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year. There’s a lot to give thanks for. Consciously taking time to acknowledge our abundance helps avoid complacency.

Even so, it’s fun – and a good exercise to sit down and write a list. To be clear, I’m very thankful for the love and abundance in my life, a wonderful family, fantastic friends and a great community. I’m thankful for the sun, moon and stars. I’m very grateful for the country I live in and especially all those who have served to protect my freedom.

Yet I wanted to capture gratitude that’s unique to me, and that’s what this list does.

10 Things I’m Grateful for this Thanksgiving

1. Elderly parents. At 87, they’re both still going strong. However, as they get older, their filters get more holes in them. That means that words that wouldn’t have made it through in the old days, get through now. Finally, they say what they really think.

2. My Mennonite upbringing. Everyone has to start somewhere and that’s where I landed. I’m grateful for the courage, compassion and work ethic my grandparents lived.

3. An office with a view. I look out my office window into the grove of cedars that surround my place. The trees provide shade, protection from storms and shelter for the birds that call it home for at least part of the year.

4. Measha. I swore I’d not have another pet because my lifestyle is so mobile. That’s until this little cat found her way into my home and my heart. She teaches me a lot about life.

5. My motorcycle. It is such a gift  to travel and work from my motorcycle. As much as I love riding it and the people and experiences around it, it is also a tool that I use for my work. It’s a plumb posting!

6. My neighborhood. More specifically, the rural area in which I live. I’m minutes from superb hiking trails in a beautiful hardwood forest and the crystal clear streams that run through it. I’ll get out there more often—as soon as hunting season is over.

7. Being able to work from home. Many people endure hours of commuting every day. A good portion of my work gets done right here from this little office in the cedars.

8. Bountiful well water and locally grown food. I know this is extremely rare for most of the world. Thank you.

9. The internet. It allows me to connect with great friends who could be anywhere in the world (and often are), work from home, and in fact, work from wherever I am.

10. My homes away from home.  Home is wherever I am. Traveling as I did this summer, I met up with friends and was welcomed into homes. I was at home with campground proprietors, employees and fellow travelers. I was never alone or with strangers.

That’s the short list. I’ll save the rest for Thanksgiving #2 in November.

What are you thankful for?

photo credit: Puzzler4879 via photopin cc