Often I step outside and take pictures. Sometimes a beautiful sunset lures me outdoors—or the vibrant colors of autumn leaves beckon me to come closer. While I am walking around, I always look for things that aren’t so obvious—something small or hidden—perhaps interesting in shape or color. These pictures remind me of things for which I am thankful. They are images of Thanksgiving  and of thanks-giving.

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Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

— Melody Beattie (b.1948) American author of self-help books on codependent relationships

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Thanksgiving

Our family’s standard Thanksgiving meal is chicken and dumplings, dressing, and pecan pie. The traditional recipes have been passed down from my mother and from her mother before her.

I inherited some of mother’s cookware. This is my mother’s dumpling pot which we use every Thanksgiving.

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These two yellow pyrex containers were ones she used for cooking dressing. And, we now use them.

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And, my favorite Thanksgiving dessert is pecan pie!

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My mother taught my husband (the cook in our family) how to make the family’s traditional Thanksgiving meal. Every day I am grateful for such a loving, gentle, patient, and intelligent partner.

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There is much beauty outside to be thankful for—wildlife, trees, and sky . . .

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Looking Toward Christmas!

Thanksgiving also beckons us to head into the Christmas season. Some years we begin putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. My grandmother, Mama Coker, made the Christmas Stockings.

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I also get out my Christmas CDs and begin listening to them.

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All these images of Thanksgiving (thanks-giving) fill my heart. Gratitude for family and life is a feast for the soul.