Make a list and be thankful all year long

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

As November slipped away, we had a few really cold nights near the end of the month. Even though it’s still a couple of weeks until winter offi cially arrives, temperatures have dipped into the teens and we had to scrape frost off the windshield before going to work.

We’ve put an extra blanket on the bed and hunted out heavier clothing from the back of our drawers. A warm pair of gloves feels good when we grip the steering wheel in the morning but, fortunately, the car has a good heater and the interior is soon nice and toasty. That’s good because the weatherman is predicting morecold weather, maybe even some snow and sleet by the end of the week.

The cold has pretty well put an end to the garden. I’ve pulled up most of the brown tomato and pepper plants and thrown them on the burn pile. The Swiss chard in the front fl owerbed is still pretty and green and promises to make a tasty side dish whenever I choose to pick it. Lower temperatures have deepened the orange-red hue of the pyracantha berries and the bright red of the holly berries.

The bright leaves and crisp weather of November and early December make it exhilarating to be outdoors. A brisk walkrenews our energy and brings back memories of collecting leaves for school projects when we were kids. Once we gathered as many different kinds as we could find and compiled them in a notebook. For another project, we chose some of the prettier, more colorful ones and carefully ironed them between sheets of waxed paper, making striking placemats for the kitchen table.

Now I gather a few to add to the acorns, buckeyes and hickory nuts in a bowl on the coffee table. I know they’ll soon wither, but they add a brief beauty before I have to throw them out.

Late November is the time when families and friends congregate to eat a hearty meal and ponder all the things for which they’re thankful. I just think it’s a shame we’re not more thankful, more appreciative, of all our blessings throughout the whole year instead of justfocusing on our gratitude a few days in the eleventh month.

Nevertheless, I joined friends at the senior center a couple of weeks ago for a tasty meal of turkey and all the trimmings and gathered with family members at my nephew’s house Sunday for another big feast, featuring a plump ham as the main course.

I made Jim a chocolate cream pie last Thursday and, out with friends Saturday morning, we were discussing our favorite flavors of pie. My friend Dee picked pecan, her husband chose strawberry rhubarb, and I opted for coconut cream. At nephew Dustan’s on Sunday, I ate half a piece of the pumpkin pie his mom made and half a piece of caramel apple pie. Believe it or not, the apple pie was made by grandson Adrian, a senior in high school. Everyone agreed it was delicious. We have a budding chef in the family!

No question about it, we Americans love our desserts. In Grandma’s day when almost everyone lived on farms, the sweet ending to the meal might be a bowl of pudding, fresh or home-canned fruit or a fruit pie waiting on the sideboard. As more folks began to work in town, the local bakery became a popular place, one where you could drop by for gooey sweet rolls for breakfast, cookies for an after school snack and a variety of cakes and pies for any occasion. Even today, although many are on a diet, we search out the low-fat or “light” version of a recipe, but we don’t want to give up our sweet fi nale.

Jo Northrop, one of my favorite writers, once said she could never finish a list of things for which she was thankful but, during this season, she enjoyed thinking about her many blessings and sharing a few. “My extended thanksgiving list includes the pleasure offriendships old and new, and happy times with family,” she wrote. “The tally would also mention the pleasure of a small garden and a baby bunny that slipped through the garden fence from time to time and rested, half hidden, under the hosta plants.

“I give thanks for the warmth of a crackling fi re on a cold day, for the companions around it, and for the sound of church bells, Canada geese and cardinals.... Most of all, I appreciate each new day and the joy it holds. I am thankful for wonderful memories and visions of beautiful tomorrows.”

A simple list but very expressive. May we all search our hearts and determine those things for which we’re truly grateful. And remember to be thankful all year long!

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong resident of Benton County.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 12/04/2013