A Few of My Favourite Things

I love to travel - and I don’t even mind the journey as long as I have a comfy seat - but when you are on a flight that is scheduled to last nearly eleven hours, it is inevitable that at some point you are going to get a bit bored - no matter how good the in-flight entertainment is. I really have enjoyed myself so far - the food has been great, I had a nice glass of wine, and I finally treated myself to a copy of Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, a book I have been wanting to read for quite some time now. I always hesitated to buy it because I’m not really into scary stories (so vampires are pretty much out) and it was billed as a story for young adults - but so many young adults have told me how good it is I finally gave in and bought my own copy. I read it in one sitting - I was barely able to put it down to eat my lunch! I can’t wait to get hold of the rest of the books in the series. Stephanie Meyer is a great storyteller - she had me hooked all the way through. If you have not read Twilight already, I highly recommend it.

My husband and I then spent some time dozing and listening to some music together with those headphone splitter things that mean you can both listen to one iPod at the same time. It’s great having him all to myself this Valentine’s Day. It’s pretty rare for me to have over ten solid hours at a time with him right beside me. It got me to thinking about how that is just one of the many things I have to be grateful for. Here are some more:-



1. My family and the very beautiful part of the world we live in (this was taken less than ten minute’s walk from our house) and that I am able to visit so many other very beautiful parts of the world. I’m also grateful that our son (who is on a trip with college) has arrived safely in Spain. And most of all for answered prayer for safe travel during their 24 hour bus journey particularly when a wild and crazy car driver decided to drive the wrong way on the motorway in Spain. He avoided hitting the bus, thank God.



2. The fact that it is Valentine’s Day means that we are getting seriously closer to Spring. The days are getting longer, and by the time March gets here we usually have some flowers out at home. The picture above is from March/April last year, but I’ve even got daffodils blooming in a container outside now!

3. Our friends and extended family who are all a very special part of our lives.

4. That my husband, son and I are all in good health. Also that I am now fit enough to be working towards running a 5km fun run and hopefully eventually a 10 km run with my husband - something I never dreamed I would do in my life, let alone now!



5. My rich family history and wonderful memories of my parents. I love surrounding myself with things that remind me of them and pieces of furniture that have a history - whether from my parents’ childhood, my own, or the history my husband, son and I have created together. This cute heart shaped dish is one of three that nest inside each other. They belonged to my Mom, and I have loved them since I was little. We use them for sweets and candies or sauces (like the cranberry sauce above). I thought this picture was particularly suitable for today - the bright cranberries sitting jewel-like in the heart shaped dish - and with it I wish you and yours a very Happy Valentine’s Day! The things I have listed are only a few of the things I have to be grateful for, and I hope you have a great many things to be grateful for as well.

Gratitude

I've edited this post to appear on Finer Thing Friday on The Finer Things in Life blog. I'm new to Finer Things Friday but I'm planning to visit regularly in future!! This post originally appeared last week, on October 14th, just after Canadian Thanksgiving.

Monday night’s Thanksgiving dinner was one of those moments when I was overwhelmed with gratitude - one of those “God is in His heaven and all is right with the world” moments. Except that while for us, the “God is in His heaven” bit was absolutely true, I knew that it was far from true that “all is right with the world”. But I was grateful anyway.

I felt grateful that we are all healthy, that we could be together uninterrupted and that we had such an abundance of food to put on the table. I was also grateful that my son had taken the trouble to make me smile by putting on every piece of clothing bearing maple leaves that he had ever owned (despite the fact many were from rather a long time ago and were hardly comfortable). And I was grateful that although two of the people I would have loved to have had at our table are no longer with us, our table was full of happy memories, both visible and invisible. From the heart shaped dish that my Mom used to put cranberry sauce in, the shell shaped spoon she used with it and her duck egg blue Royal Doulton gravy boat to the memories of times when we did all sit at the table together, the room echoed with the murmurs of Thanksgivings past as we all enjoyed Thanksgiving present. It was perfect.




Five minutes before we sat down, chaos reined supreme. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in England, so my husband had just got in from work and was still dealing with calls and business issues. My son was battling looming deadlines for college coursework. We are in a season of too much to do in too little time, when balance is sadly lacking in our lives. Worries plagued the back of our minds, particularly about my husband’s Aunt who is critically ill in hospital and who we are likely to lose. But for that hour, it was just us, around the table, sharing food, wine and conversation - creating memories for Thanksgiving future.

It did not matter that as we finished our pumpkin pie the phone began to ring again, and life - both the joys and sorrows of it - came flooding back into the room. For that short time, it was just us, commemorating a celebration dating back hundreds of years, taking the time to be still, and grateful - just as my ancestors did for so many years before we were even thought of. It was a visible, tangible illustration of the awesome cyclical nature of life, and a moment I will always be grateful to remember.