gratitude

It was Thanksgiving here (in the US) yesterday, and of course I practiced plenty of reflection on what I can/should be/am thankful for.

We (my love and I- the young adults were all celebrating elsewhere, Thijs was actually climbing a mountain in Colorado, Vera and Emma were being wined and dined by NYU in Paris) did not have the traditional dinner. I didn't feel like it (lot of reflection on the whole refugees/immigrants issues, and we are recent immigrants too). So I made a very nice pot of soup (onion, potato, tomato, kale, and chickpeas, if you must know).

On any given day, I usually try to 'walk the way of the seven joys', although I do not count anymore because there are always more. I simply try to find small and large moments of beauty, fun, quiet, connection, etc. I frequently text my children the word ' enjoy'. If I really think about it, my life is so fortunate, I can't even begin to 'list' what I am grateful for.

And then today, while I was enjoying hobby-ing around (baking, cooking, knitting, quilt making), it dawned on me: I am incredibly thankful for the gift of reading (okay and a bit of math).

WIP 

I thought about how my life would be very very different if I could not, for whatever reason, read.  I can follow a recipe,  I can half or double that recipe, I can read a knitting pattern (with a little help from my friend at http://cowroad.blogspot.com/ ) I can read my doctor's instructions, I understand posted public anouncements, I can enjoy books, I can function in a world that uses the printed word more than you realize until you think about it.

When we meet with families in my job, we usually ask how they like their information. And sometimes they say 'verbally'. And sometimes that means that they have difficulty with reading. So they don't know what it says on the discharge instructions. They can't measure their childs formula/medication without using techniques/tools that do not involve reading or math. They nowadays have some cool electronic options, still, much of the information they need is not accessible to them. Even if you explain things verbally,  like the rest of us, they can't remember everything...

remembering forward

I don't even know where to start. Since last time I shared some thoughts and pictures. A season ago. Some moons ago (one of them a harvest moon eclipse!).

 I have found time- to the detriment of other activities of course, such as keeping house - to start cutting for Emma's quilt. This helps me settle, be alone with my thoughts and helps me grieve, process my father-in-law's recent death.

Here he is, in a portrait that my love took with his phone during a spring 2014 visit to the Netherlands. He had the gift of enjoying small things in life. He used to say to me "as long as you are here, you will be well taken care of" (and made good on that promise). If I talked to him during weekly phonecalls, he always asked whether things were still good between my love and me.

Another portrait, done by Vera several years ago. Signature 'over the glasses' look and smile. He worked hard all his life and was a volunteer fire fighter. So many people in town will miss his presence, but of course close family most of all. The circle of life is rough.

Even if you can look back on 'great years' like my mother-in-law said. May those memories give her some peace.

And perhaps the already planned demolition of our master bathroom (finally- we have joked for a while that this was the first room we thought we would tackle and is now almost last) was somewhat therapeutic for Thijs and my love.

I may eventually show  before and after pictures, but I will have to swallow some shame first over the 'before'. The 'after' is going to be quite 'swanky' as one of my co-workers exclaimed over the proposed plan.