Do you remember back when social media was nice and people actually shared their person thoughts, not just links to someone else’s? Yeah, it’s been a while.
One of those pleasant things that caught on in my friend circle was to post one thing you were thankful for, each day in November.
It was always a blessing to see gratitude coming from my screen. And when I posted my own, it would spark conversations in life outside of comments, posts, and likes.
Even though I’m no longer on social media, I still like to practice a purposeful, descriptive, month of Thankfulness leading up to Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season.
Even though this is either from last year or last month (I’m writing it over November 2024), I hope it blesses you and inspires you to have a daily gratitude practice of your own!
Day 1
I am thankful for a phone call with my sister, Gloria. She is a big encourager in my life, and I’m so grateful for her friendship and sisterhood.
Day 2
I am thankful for a day with nothing scheduled. I got to clean my room amidst reading books and tickling toddlers. All the bedrooms are vacuumed and there’s nowhere I need to be.
Day 3
I am thankful for Andrew skipping his nap today. It’s time-change day and I needed to go somewhere after the kids were in bed. Andrew has been waking up at 5:30, but with the time difference, it was 4:30 this morning. I know he was awake for a long time without a nap, but I’m really hoping it was the reset he needs to jerk his sleep rhythm to waking up later.
Day 4
I am thankful to have met Jeff. We met at a Bible study, November 4, 2012. He was unlike anyone I had ever met and I’m so thankful for how our story began.
Day 5
I am thankful for groceries. I cleaned up my freezer space yesterday and was shocked that I had nearly accomplished my goal of eating through the food in the freezer. It felt good and also so weird. Now, after grocery shopping heavily, my freezer is half full and I have lots of food in my fridge and pantry as well. Last night I made a weird soup with all of my lingering veggies. Today, it feels so good to have lots of fresh food to eat and prepare for my family. I may just get out of this food-funk yet!
Day 6
I am thankful for the American government and for living in a place where every person has a role to fill in shaping their nation. I’m thankful to live where I am free to speak my mind and worship God openly and freely.
Day 7
I am thankful for friends for my kids. We had a church play date this morning, choir this afternoon, and then the kids played with the neighbors as the sun was going down.
Day 8
I am thankful for a fun date with my husband. We went out for drinks and dinner downtown. My parents watched the kids and we got to just enjoy the night in each other’s company. We don’t go on dates very often – definitely not once a week, more like once per month that he’s home – and it was so lovely to go out just the two of us.
Day 9
I am thankful for my marriage. It’s mine and Jeff’s 11th anniversary today. Though we’ve already celebrated with lots of special moments this week, I still love this day. I have white roses and a cheeky card from my husband, who manages to find the perfect card for our season of life with each year’s changes. Happy anniversary sweetheart! I’m so glad we get to grow old and wrinkly together!
Day 10
I am thankful for my church. It’s taken a while, but I feel like my whole family is rooted in our church now, and I am so happy and at peace with my church.
Day 11
I am thankful for limits. I often have big goals for a single day. Today’s lofty goal was to clear the surfaces, rotate out the toy build-up in the living room, sort the laundry, and make a laborious dinner. I am thankful I realized it was not going to happen before turning into a puddle on the living room floor. I got the surfaces cleared, momentarily, and made dinner. I also baked with my kids. And that’s more important than rotating toys today.
Day 12
I’m thankful for a random burst of energy. Maybe it’s from taking more vitamin B6, or because I ate a lot of chips and somehow my body actually used quick fuel for quick energy, either way, I got my house tidied SO FAST with this energy for an hour today.
Day 13
I am thankful for indoor heat. We were outside a lot today with friends, and while it hasn’t snowed yet, it felt very damp and cold out. Winter-gray is becoming more of a daily occurrence and it makes everything feel so much colder. Walking into my house was so comforting and warm: a welcomed change from the outside conditions of today.
Day 14
I am thankful to recognize a mistake. I tried to do too much today before choir – which is at 12:15 – and I’m reminded to respect my limits. There were too many times in and out of the van, too many groceries on my list, too many promises of doing the fun things: too much too muching! So, while it is more of a pain point that a bright spot, I’m thankful for the lesson learned, once again.
Day 15
I am thankful for my new friend, Abby. She had me and my family over for dinner tonight and my laundry list of no-no foods didn’t scare her off from feeding us all a delicious meal. I often forget the connections formed when we eat with more than just our own families. Thank you, Abby, for helping connect our two families today.
Day 16
I am thankful for a home-day, today. We were out late with the kids last night – we got home at 8:25: I know you’re shocked! – and today was a needed reset. We didn’t go anywhere or even spend time outside. All of the rooms we live in got cleaned to some extent and it feels like it didn’t take much effort to clean up at the end of the day.
Day 17
I am thankful for my daughter, Abigail, for following God’s call on her heart to get baptized, today. There is no joy like having your children be your brothers and sisters in Christ.
I’m also thankful that her front tooth made it through church only to fall out this afternoon! It was barely hanging on and now it’s out!
Day 18
I am thankful for easy friendships. We spent a lot of time this summer hanging out with a family down the street. And while summer is over, our friendship continues to grow and be easy. If you aren’t friends with your neighbors, but you’d like to be, I’d encourage you to put in some intentionality and spend time together. You might be surprised that friendship only loves a few doors away!
Day 19
I am thankful to have a goodnight call with my husband while he’s traveling. He took a trip to the other side of the country and up into Canada for work. And even though he’s only been gone since yesterday morning, I was a little bummed to share a bedtime call with the kids last night! He’s back in the states and in a closer time zone tonight, so I got to have my own call tonight and it was nice to talk uninterrupted for a while.
Day 20
I am thankful for my arsenal of cold remedies. All three kids woke up sick today. There’s nothing to be blamed and all to be made well. So armed with Vicks, essential oils with widespread applications, nasal spray, and coloring books, we made it through sick day number 1. I’m praying that wet sock therapy does its magic and the kids all sleep well and feel much better in the morning!
Day 21
I am thankful that my idea for a choir community group is working! I have this vision that the families in choir not just see each other in passing, but actually connect with each other. And have a way to organize volunteers so the concert goes smoothly. Both things are happening. And I’m thankful for feeling more organized going into our final rehearsal and concert week.
Day 22
I’m thankful for Walmart delivery. I would not have had the yummy chicken and dumplings dinner, without my last minute order of a rotisserie chicken coming to my doorstep as I started cooking for the evening.
Day 23
I’m thankful for space heaters. Our furnace is on the fritz and wouldn’t stay heating on today. It blew cold air and the house temp went down when we tried using it. But we stayed cozy today with our electric fireplace and a couple of space heaters. It really wasn’t bad at all.
Day 24
I’m thankful for my husband – I told you I’d say that a lot! He tried some things with our furnace and got it running again! Granted, it’s not a long-term fix, but it’ll get us through until we can get the furnace repaired or replaced. Our house is warm and I am happy for it.
Day 25
I am thankful I checked my defrosting turkey, because it really was not defrosting very well, and needed some time out on the counter.
Day 26
I am thankful for morning baking. I do sometimes miss getting to be ultra-productive and baking loads and loads of yummy goodies – maybe not to the extent of my former life as a professional baker, but I do sometimes get an itch to bake SO. MUCH. STUFF. Today I got to scratch that itch a bit by baking a pumpkin “pie” (not really a pie, but it’s in a pie dish!) and lemon cranberry scones before 10 am. It felt good.
I am also thankful that sandwiches count as dinner. Especially on days when the kids need me more because I didn’t the morning baking on my own.
Day 27
I am thankful my children are becoming good road trippers. We’ve come a long way from our first trip with a potty training child and having to stop 5 times in a 2 1/2 hour drive, to today, making the same drive with three kids and not needing to stop a single time. It’s really pleasant having kids travel well.
Day 28
I am thankful to be with my sister for Thanksgiving, today. We both have laundry lists of foods we can’t have and a few major ones line up! So we spend food-heavy holidays together as much as possible! I’m thankful she’s just a day-trip away!
Day 29
I’m thankful to be home, even though it’s a day early. The kids have been sick with a cold and last night it turned into earaches. It’s been a rough time since putting the kids to bed last night at my sister’s house, so I’m thankful that the kids will be in their own beds tonight and we can all get some sleep in our normal places.
Day 30
I am thankful for showers. I don’t really enjoy taking showers, I think of them as a chore more than I form of self-care (but I think of cooking and doing themselves as self-care and not as a chore…), but I am thankful for showering, nonetheless. This week has had a lot of ups and down, preparations and disappointments, good memories and hard firsts. Taking a shower as this week ends feels like washing it all off and starting fresh for a new week.
Conclusion
No month is perfect. We’ve been sick. There have been hard and frustrating days where I grapple for something to be thankful for. But whether it’s an easy day with beautiful weather and all being healthy, there is always something to be thankful for.