Month of Thankfulness Day 1

I'm so glad I saw my cousin starting this, or else I would have forgotten that I wanted to.  I attempted to do it last moth, and failed, but, now I'm bringing it on.

The challenge? Note 1,000 things for which you are thankful in a month.

The help?  If this is hard for you to do on your own, I've got a list to follow.  All you have to do is write it out according to the category given, as provided by the website called A Holy Experience.  They have a "Joy Dare" for each month.  Their backlogs can be found here.

The start?  I will begin now.  Will you?

3 Gifts Eaten

When I first saw this thankfulness assignment, I didn't think it would be that cool of one.  I didn't think it would live up to the name of the challenge and fill me with joy... I mean, it's just food.  Turns out, I was very, very wrong.  This day is looking up!

1. I'm thankful that I've always had enough food to eat.  I've even had enough food to be picky.  I've always had so much food that I've been able to look at a full cupboard of food and yell, "Mom!  There's nothing to eat!"  I've had enough food that I knew I was hypoglycemic (those without food never can realize that's what it is).  I've had enough food that I think that going 2 hours past my normal meal time is what it means to be "SO HUNGRY!"  I have been blessed.
2. I'm thankful for all of the Thanksgiving dinners I've gotten to eat with my family.  This month is especially hard for me, as I, once again, will not be with them, but I've had 21 other Thanksgivings with them, and that is a wonderful, beautiful blessing.



Okay, so it's not officially Thanksgiving dinner in this picture, but it was at our Thanksgiving reunion (1999).

3. I'm thankful for the food that I've eaten that's come from friends when I've needed their friendships most.  Like the time my friend Mark and I were both suffering from crazy sinuses, but he picked me up, and we both went out in our pajamas to Kroger, and we bought cookie dough, ice cream, and chocolate.  The cashier looked at us with a knowing smile that actually looked like she had absolutely no idea about the truth of the situation, but it made for a wonderful memory.  Or the time that I had swine flu, and I posted on Facebook about how I really wanted a Cherry Limeade from Sonic, and my friend Markus got one and dropped it off with my RA for me.  And then there's the time that my boss knew the kind of hours I was keeping my junior and senior years in college and would make me lunches almost every day, having them ready by 10:30am, for me to run in, grab them, and fly out again, never once letting me pay for them.  Yes, food has definitely been good to me in showing me how loved I am.

"Blessed are You L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe… Who brings forth bread from the earth… Who creates various kinds of sustenance… Who creates the fruit of the vine… of the tree… of the earth… by Whose word all things came to be.” (Jewish blessing over food)

PS.  I know it's November 2 here, but I'll deal with that somehow.  Maybe I'll just go by East Coast standards, or I'll double up or something...