26 Nov giving thanks
giving thanks
Growing up, every night during dinner (okay, I think it was like once a month, but childhood mind’s aren’t the best with remembering lengths of time) my mom would pass around an index card and pens. Before we were allowed to leave the table we had to write something we were grateful for. Some days this felt easy (like right after a new GK leotard had arrived in the mail), and some days this felt worse than being the last one to get to the broccoli (all the cheesy pieces were at the top of the bowl, and the mushy ones resting in the lukewarm green broccoli water were at the bottom). I might have complained, but it was such a good practice, learning to pause, to say thanks.
I think I believe in saying thanks more than anything else. There is something oddly uplifting and freeing to exclaim things I’m grateful for. I’m prone to constant worry; so I think I need things like this to keep those adrenal glands of mine in check.
So today, a list for you (and, let’s be honest, for me) of some things we’re grateful for this year.
Our grateful list
photo cred: usatoday.com
1. Winter ending: Seriously, there were times when I never ever thought it would. And, to be fair, the very last snow mountain didn’t melt until JULY!
2. Finding fabulous tenants: Not having to sell our swanky Somerville abode was the most comforting thing to me about our move. And to find lovely tenants–a young couple, who just had their first kid–felt like such a gift.
3. The Cambridge Boat House party: we felt like we could cater and tend bar and plan all the logistics of a 150 person party. But then when it came time to actually do it, we were profoundly aware that we maybe had bitten off more than we could choose. We did it, though. It was thrilling. And the weather was p.e.r.f.e.c.t.
4. Sweet goodbyes in the city we love: We spent the entire month of July doing two things: packing and eating. We did a tour of all of our favorite places in Boston with all of our favorite people. It was sweet and delicious.
5. Smooootthh move: Sometimes I still can’t get over how smooth all the aspects of our move went. We left on an early August morning with our 20 foot Uhaul packed to the brim. There were still a thousand details about how our life would actually work in DC that were yet to be figured out, and, you know what, they all worked out. So perfectly and timely it was hard to deny a feeling of divine intervention.
photo cred:www.lifeatthetop.com
6. Our neighborhood: We thought our neighborhood was cute when we visited, but since moving in we’ve become somewhat obsessed with our row-house-lined neighborhood. We still get a little startled when we walk out the door and see the Capitol, but we’re grateful to call this neck of the city home.
7. Apartment jenga: Speaking of home, it took us several weeks of playing apartment jenga with all of our funtiture, but we eventually figured it out and our (tiny) apartment has been so good to us. We owe a lot of thanks to our installation angel, Martin, who made a lot of this possible.
8. Sloowww moving employers: Had you asked me a few months ago, I would have been going a bit crazy with just how slow my now employer was processing my paperwork. But it was those months of waiting that finally gave us time to launch this blog!
9. Fast moving employers: Brian’s employer was the complete opposite of mine. We’re so grateful for interesting day jobs to do things we care about.
10. Union Kitchen: We stumbled upon them haphazardly and felt like we struck gold. We feel lucky to be surrounded by local food businesses who help us think about what our little endeavor could be.
11. This shaker. Seriously it’s the best and makes our thousands of cocktail photos so much better! Many thanks to our family who gifted it to us last Christmas.
12. Cycling > metro: A key factor in choosing our current apartment was just how insanely close it is to the metro. But, truth be told, we’ve taken the metro all of three times. Why? Because the weather has been so lovely that we bike everywhere.
13. Tokyo bike: Commuting around town is even more fun because of this new bike. This brings our total bike count up to 8, which we admit, is mostly insane. But, seriously, how cute is this bike?
14. Bike trails: We still haven’t figured out what roads in DC will take us to the equivalent of Boston’s Concord, Bedford, and Carlisle, but all of the many bike trails are so lovely.
photo cred: washington.org
15. The monuments: This is corny and oddly patriotic sounding, but we really love the monuments. They’re striking and beautiful and so close. We’re grateful to have them woven into our everyday lives.
16. Fretting the small things: It feels like a tumultuous time in the world, and the plight of what’s happening in Syria and so many other places has made us quite emotional. In our own everyday lives, though, most of the things we fret over revolve around what we’ll eat for dinner and if we’ll be able to make it to NYC for the holidays. Fretting about these small things is actually such a gift, one I never want to overlook.
17. Online liquor ordering: The fact that we can order online. and have it delivered to our house. game changer.
18. Sherry: Our generation has sadly seemed to overlook this fortified wine. We’re happy to give it some overdue attention.
photo cred: eonline.com
19. Adele. And Taylor: Like everyone else. We loop through their albums. A lot.
20. This blog: We’re grateful for this place to share something we really like. We’re grateful for a project to work on together. We’re not good at all things, but working together is one of our strong points. We’re happy for people like you who appear to be interested.
Today, so many thanks.
