LET'S HEAR IT FOR *GRATITUDE*

 

 

That's right - G R A T I T U D E.

Yes, I know it's August.

Yes, I recall Thanksgiving time is celebrated the fourth Thursday in November here in the USA.

And yes, I recall church liturgy reminds us to "give thanks" and some of those injunctions include the word "always." Or, "in all circumstances."

So right now, here in the last third of the eighth month of 2026, I am going to share with you some of my personal thankfulnesses.

Part 1 - Daily Life

My small town (pop. 12000-15000) has undergone changes. Yet my day-to-day existence remains recognizable and livable. Streets undergo construction to keep them up to date and safe. Businesses leave (due to the ups and downs of the economy) and new businesses come in to keep life viable. We have doctors, clinics, a hospital with ties to a large hospital only 20 miles away. We have a multi-purpose library to serve the needs of all ages, babies to elders. We can shop locally at large stores, or we can shop online--shipping is often from a nearby warehouse.

Part 2 -  Opportunities 

Now that Internet is a fixture of life, I can study anything that takes my fancy--online classes (for credit or not); hobby interests on websites devoted to teaching, trouble-shooting, encouraging, providing a virtual community of like-minded people like me. Without leaving my home, I can find answers to my art, quilting, knitting dilemmas. Or I can look up answers to questions that arise in the story I'm writing, currently medical info.

Part 3 - People

Late at night, I can shoot an email to a friend or family member. If I want a quick answer (earlier in the day) I can text. I'm not tied to the telephone for communication (medical providers recognize the value of a place for Internet Q & A). I can renew a subscription online, pay bills, and many other options.

Part 4 - What I Can't Do

Change the weather--tried but the website was always too busy to take my request. Physically return an unsatisfactory item I ordered. Get my teeth cleaned or have fillings replaced. Have blood drawn without going out to the lab. Reach out and touch your hand, give you a hug if you need one. I can weep with you, though you may not see it.

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I'm grateful for all of the above. No doubt I've left out something important, but there's always another time. (Only two months to November.)

Today I'm grateful that the weather is moderating, as the season begins to change. I am grateful for appliances that still do their jobs without complaint (some after many years of service). I am grateful that I can still get out and do some of my errands, and have the help of my youngest daughter so I can continue to live in my own home. And I am grateful for family and friends, neighbors and other folks in my community, who keep life humming along. 

Thank you for your support in reading and sharing your thoughts. I'm grateful for every one of you!

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 

 

 

 TOUGH TIMES . . .

Everybody has tough times . . . I've never met anybody who lived in a land of eternal springtime, little birdies singing, flowers blooming their heads off--and honestly, I don't think I'd actually believe it if I did meet somebody like that.

But I have met lotsa folks who have tough times of varying intensity and length, and from them, I've learned a little about how to navigate those rocky places in life.

Often, I've had mentors from my churches. They prayed with me. They recommended books and authors whose writings gave me a different point of view. They showed me how to turn difficult times into possibilities for growth. And the best thing of all, over the years I've developed a habit of looking for those ways on my own.

If you've been reading Thursday's Child for a while, you know I spend a lot of time reading. One of my favorite writers has been, and is, C. S. Lewis. I first knew his work when I was an undergrad English major--we used one of his books, The Four Loves, in a Middle English course. (Lewis was an academic in England.) A few years later, I made his acquaintance again when my oldest daughter brought home The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first of the Narnia series. And since that time, I've read many of his books on religious subjects.

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Recently, I've collected thoughts from various sources. Around Mother's Day, The New York Times ran an article about advice people had received from their moms. What fun to read! Some of those sayings I'd heard in my young life--things like "walk in the other person's shoes before you judge." 

But the one that stood out for me, and that I'd never heard before, was this: "If you try, you either win or you learn." Got that? Win or learn--not win or lose. In similar words, I've been reading that sentiment, "win or learn," for the past several years--mostly from visual artists, writers, and  teachers, who are absolutely convinced that mistakes are good things, because they help you learn something you didn't know before.

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A few weeks ago I watched a video on YouTube by an American artist I follow, Ellen Crimi-Trent. This was a follow-up video about her father. A few months ago, Ellen and her brother were helping their artist father downsize his studio; he had hundreds (literally!) of paintings, some framed, some not; and he was no longer able to paint due to poor health. The family members were clearing out the studio, selling paintings locally and online. They'd done this once already this year; now they were having a second sale, and the end was, apparently not in sight. Their father, the artist, could no longer hold a paint brush. I'm guessing he's in his 80s. 

At the end of the video, Ellen closed with this thought, "Take the time and space to enjoy every moment that you have." That really hit me where I live.

I wish you the same--time and space.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 ROAD TRIP THINKING

Lilies--as a possibility

On a recent road trip to an appointment in the city, my daughter (also my driver) and I got into a discussion about the ways people navigate through life. 

**As an aside: We've learned, by experience, that it's best not to get into these deep talks on the way to the appointment, only afterward, when we're on the way home. That way, we don't miss an crucial exit on the freeway and possibly arrive late. Going home--not so much pressure.**

On that particular day, my daughter mentioned "deficit thinking." Not a term I was familiar with, but I grasped the idea. Pretty simple, really: thinking from a place of not having. Examples abound in all areas:

  I can't paint, I don't have the talent/supplies/money/connections . . . .

  My life is full already--I don't have time to paint/practice the viola/learn to quilt . . . .

  And my all-time favorite: I'm too old to _______. 

Okay, that's enough examples. We all know what "deficit thinking" means. If we haven't said it (or thought it to ourselves), we've heard it said. Boiled down, it's what we used to call "negative attitude."

Okay. Other side--"possibilities thinking." 

Got some samples to share? How about these:

  What do I have now?

  What can I do, even without a particular tool?

  What if I _____?

Basically, we're looking at what we can do based on what we already have/know/can try.

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Deficit thinking deals quite a lot in If-Onlys.

Possibilities thinking deals in What-Ifs.

So how can we shift from the minus type of thinking to the plus type?

Not as hard as you might think. Consider these:

    Do-Overs. If you're old enough, you were brought up on the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Hardly anything in life is a one-and-done. Why would painters, musicians, sculptors, quilters, and other creative folks keep on trying new techniques? Why would they explore a new idea, a new way of looking at the same subject? 

  If you watch the Olympics, do you think those performers got it right the first time? If they did, why did they continue practicing? (Sometimes for years!)

  Hindsight. The only reason anyone tries the same thing more than once is to assess the result. Could it have been larger? Smaller? Taller? Miniature in scale? Different colors/textures? That doesn't mean the first one was "wrong"; it means there were other possibilities--and how do they look?

  Looking in the Rearview Mirror. Another way to assess results. Put it away for a time to "cool" and take it out later. This is a technique often used by writers, who report errors and typos that appeared after a time away from the manuscript. Distance can be measured in time as well as physical location.

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Again from my experience, I suspect a lot of us hesitate to risk the try-and-fail of possibilities because (1) we don't want to waste time, (2) we don't want people to know we're less than perfect (or at least good) at something, or (3) it feels scary, especially if we haven't tried it before.

Going forward--how about leaning toward the Possibilities side? Leave Deficit Thinking for other folks to try. Or maybe, more folks will look at our positive efforts and decide to try them also.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

In Full Bloom