Welcome, November ~ {One Hundred Bits of Gratitude by Thanksgiving} #1

amyofhearthridge

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Hello, welcome to my second annual gratitude list here at Hearth Ridge Reflections. I hope to make a list, culminating at the American celebration of Thanksgiving, of things that I am noticing and grateful about in my life. Please join me on your own blog or jot it down in your journal, I find it such an amazing practice of reordering ones focus. I find this time of year, no matter how hard I try, becomes a haze of busyness and materialism. This little project helps me to take a moment away from all of that.  I miss it around here, yet I’ve been given a lovely, wild bunch of children whom I’ve chosen to home educate and that takes precedence. How are you all, dear friends? I hope this post finds you well. Yes, I do call you friends, even though most of us have never met. I appreciate you reading here, sharing your thoughts, and I pray that you walk away with a bit more hope and delight in your back pocket then when you arrived. Here is what I’m thankful for today:

  1. Searching the shelves for our Thanksgiving books and refilling our book basket.
  2. The delight on my daughter’s face when she realized she got a letter in the post.
  3. The smell of peppermint tea.
  4. Stepping out onto our deck, escaping a boiling hot kitchen, into a cool, dark, and star-drenched sky. I grabbed our constellation chart and spent a few lovely moments.
  5. Planning a pineapple-glazed ham for our first holiday gathering coming up, anticipating family enjoying it.
  6. The rotation of children and myself in rocker set near wood pellet stove. Little toes and fingers warmed. Conversation around the warmth. Books read, snuggles.
  7. Little heads stuffed into warm, colorful hats.
  8. That autumn smell. A soupy mixture of wood smoke, earth, rotting, wet leaves, and a closing down of the year.
  9. Unexpected inspiration in a magazine about how important the intangible moments are during the holidays, beautiful, wise, and a blessing.
  10. Precious sleep, when I’ve been not sleeping well.

~

18 thoughts on “Welcome, November ~ {One Hundred Bits of Gratitude by Thanksgiving} #1”

  3. What a wonderful list. The older I get, the more I appreciate these sorts of things. I set pushy deadlines, telling my husband “I have to finish this by xxxx”. And he says, “No you don’t”

    I am thankful for him.

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  4. Great list! Reminders of my children’s earlier years :-). Today, I am grateful for the beauty and the trees in my yard. The reds and oranges or flame. And looking forward to dinner and a wonderful movie was a good friend :-). Here’s to a month of simple pleasures for you.

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  8. I did think of doing this when I first saw your post, Amy, but it hasn’t happened yet! Anyhow just wanted to say that I think it’s a wonderful idea & habit. I’m especially grateful for two things recently: the wedding of our third child and the birth of our second grandchild (first grandson) – they are aptly named – ‘grand.’
    keep up your lovely writing.

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    1. No problem, Carol. It definitely is not meant to be an added burden. I’ve even just scratched out a list on a piece of leftover paper over the years. It’s an attitude in our hearts, right?! Just of conscious recognition of all we’ve been given, whether we physically record it. ❤ Thanks for stopping by and those are lovely new additions to your family. Thanks again.

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  9. I lovely idea. What I like about your list is the particular details – I fear that I would stray into generalisations or platitudes. Actually, what really worries me that I would diverge into negativity and moaning. More power to you for avoiding those twin traps – I look forward to numbers 11 – 100!
    Oh – one thing I will say – the poetry of Billy Collins would be somewhere in my list, a tip I’ve picked up from you. I’d never heard of him before reading about his poetry here, so thanks.

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