30 Days of Thankful

Last November our family worked on a thankful turkey. It was a simple concept where each day we'd paste a feather encrypted that for which we were thankful onto the body of a turkey.

(Read about it here).

This year I had a similar project in mind. I thought we'd do a wreath full of thankful leaves. It was a great idea except that I didn't get the leaves cut out in time. And then a week into the month when my mom got sick and almost went into a diabetic coma, I just threw in the towel.

However, I was and still am very thankful -- for a lot.

So, in honor of the 30 days of November, here they are:

I am thankful for......

1. The unconditional love my children share with each other

2. A Saturday morning all to myself

3. Faith Formation at church where both J and I have the opportunity to learn more

about the religion that has guided me throughout my life

4. Dim sum with the family on a Thursday

5. The bruise on my mom's face because that means she hit her face and not

another more serious spot on her body

6. The strength God bestowed on my mom to be able to crawl to the phone and call my Tia after the fall off the bed that caused said bruise

7. My Tia and Tio

She for getting to my mom in a jiffy and driving her to the hospital, and he for staying with her after she was released.

8. The means and opportunity to leave a few days early to be with her and the peace

I felt listening to her snoring in the next room

9. My Comadre Roseanna who despite short notice, a late hour,

and a stitched up finger was able to pick me up from the airport

10. Sacramento

Because being there pulls me back into the idiosyncrasies of my heritage and all the beautiful traditions that keep me grounded and are a constant reminder of where I come from

11. Seeing my brother

12. The joy I felt seeing my Tia Eleanor walk into my childhood home and the fact

that it was full of family on a Tuesday afternoon

13. Finding my wedding band after it had been MIA for 8 days

14. My hubby, who carries more than just the weight of his daughter on those shoulders

He keeps us safe, provided for,

and laughing


15. The extended family God gave me

16. And the family that by His grace I was lucky enough to meet
and embrace as my own (see No. 9)
17. The wonderful food we ate at Thanksgiving
18. Two awesome days in San Francisco visiting with yet more family
19. The twinkle in My Tia Chona's eyes and the remission that put it there

20. My mom
I'll leave it at that -- to elaborate would take too long

21. Being reunited with my family after nine days of the genders being
divided in two different states

22. Wishes coming true
D's to indulge in crabs and an Anchor Steam in SF

and J's to ride a cable car

(Really thankful that I could stop him from jumping off and into the street to retrieve the stuff that spilled out of my purse....yeah, that's a story in itself all right)

23. My niece

24. My nephew,

who despite all the challenges he's faced in his short life, still manages to smile (sometimes)

and make others do the same

25. The way the gaps of both distance and time close when the cousins are together and

the joy it brings to their days

26. The doctor that gave us the good news on the day before I left

that my mom's tests all came back negative;

that she's in good health; and that she's able to resume her normal day-to-day activities
27. My friends

For opening their homes and their hearts to me and my family

and for giving me the peace of mind of knowing I can ALWAYS count on them

28. My cozy home and comfy bed that were so nice to return to after two weeks away

29. Late start days

Especially after getting home at midnight

30. The opportunity to be here once again with so much to be thankful for