november is about thanksgiving. and thanksgiving is about giving thanks. so, for the next 30 days, i am going to do just that. i have not made a list and handpicked 30 people for which i am grateful. i will take time each day to reflect and write what comes to me. but, to have some form of a template, i will write 30 statements of gratitude for each person, place, or thing (in addition to whatever else i want to write).

day 1

dear grandpa bird,

today, i sat alongside your hospital bed and could not help but sink into and sift through the uncountable reasons i am grateful for you.

i am grateful…

1. for your blue eyes that stare back at me in my own reflection
2. and your chubby german cheeks that sit upon my own face
3. that you set such an amazing example of love and companionship for me (married to grandma for over 67 years)
4. that you made every past boyfriend of mine feel super awkward as you told them a dirty joke as an introduction
5. that you always kept twizzlers in a jar for us grandkids
6. for your fishing lessons from the dock
7. that you had a pontoon boat to take us on rides down the rock river
8. for your entrepreneurial spirit (which i definitely inherited)
9. for your fascinating stories about being a milkman and a kiebler elf and a slushy man and a dolphin security guard
10. that you built the house i grew up in on a block of land perfect for adventures and exploration
11. that you lived above us during my childhood and got to experience me growing up
12. and that you always tell the story about how i would come running upstairs after getting out of the bathtub as a little girl, flash open my towel, and run back downstairs giggling
13. for your stubbornness
14. and for every smart ass comment you said that made grandma yell “david!”
15. for your thrifty spending habits
16. for your financial advice (my kids will have my life insurance thanks to you)
17. for always stocking the fridge with cream soda
18. for teaching me how delicious a “black cow” can be
19. for the giant wooden clogs you got from holland that i always slipped my tiny feet into and marched around the house in
20. for the times i got to crawl up into your lap while you relaxed in your favorite arm chair
21. that you and grandma drink milk out of a bag, and i have never met anyone else who does
22. for your endless travels and grandma’s meticulous tracking of them (i think you still have me beat so far)
23. that you’re the kind of man who brought gifts to mexico each winter to give to the hotel staff
24. that you told me to get creative with my tax write offs… goats = lawn care
25. for the love and support you’ve always given your family, starting with turning down harvard
26. for every game of rummikub and skipbo
27. that you raised our family with christian science
28. for every “grandparents’ day” that you attended at chicago jr. school
29. for every time you asked me if i knew the song written about me and proceeded to sing “que será, será, whatever will be, will be”
30. that today i got to kiss your forehead and see you at peace