Written by Rowonna McNeely – I’m currently sitting in my office chair, staring at my computer, waiting for words to flow from my fingers. I’ve glanced around the room, started a sentence and stopped several times, rubbed the sticker on my computer, let the dogs out and read over Kiera’s thankful turkey. Waiting. Just waiting for a story to come to me.I have several little anecdotes that are rattling around in my head but they aren’t ready to be told this week. Instead, I find myself thinking about the season that we are in. As I looked at Kiera’s thankful turkey, my column became clear.
What is a thankful turkey you might ask? Well, no worries. We will get to that at the end. No, you may not skip to the end either.
Let me tell you what I see as I glance around our room. I’m going to tell you the brutal, honest truth. The first thing my gaze lands on is a rocking chair…filled with unfolded, clean clothes. From there, I see my dresser that is cluttered with papers, Barbie dolls and makeup. Finally, my gaze lands on my semi-made bed and the cat lounging on it. Actually, she seems to be glaring at me…probably afraid I will disturb her.
But, honestly, it’s not the mess and clutter that catches my attention. It is the things I have to be thankful for. We have more than one outfit to wear. I have a washer and dryer to maintain their cleanliness. I also have hangers for my clothes. Sometimes, they just take a little longer to meet each other.
The top of our dresser has papers that Kiera has brought home from school. Some she has colored especially for Aaron or I. In the clutter, I have a few acorns and rocks that she has gathered for me. They are sitting in a small box on top of the dresser. I’m thankful for every bit of that clutter. My child drew those pictures with one of us in mind when she drew it. She thought of us as she gathered the tiny rocks and acorns from the ground.
One day, I will part with them. But for now, they are small reminders of what a precious child we have. The random Barbie or doll lying on my dresser is something else that I am thankful for, even though I am possibly more thankful when Kiera remembers to put them in her room.
We have comfortable beds with warm bedding even if it doesn’t get made all the time. I’m even thankful for the glaring cat. We are blessed with two dogs that adore us and would protect our family.
I’m thankful for the ability to write and design. I’m thankful for each of you that read about our weekly exploits. I have so many things to be thankful for. I couldn’t possibly list them all. And it all became clear to me with a thankful turkey and a small, pink sticker on my computer..
Several weeks ago as I was working away on my computer, Kiera walked up to me holding a page of stickers. She handed me a pink sticker with a treasure chest on it. “It’s a magic treasure box.” She explained. “You should put it here on your computer, because this is where you make magic.”
I am thankful that God blessed me with my family. I’m thankful for a loving, patient husband who is always willing to help me. I’m thankful for my little girl that I never imagined I would have. The little girl who thinks her Mommy can make magic.
Sometimes, we get so busy in our day-to-day life, we forget about our everyday things that we have to be thankful for. Seriously, take a minute, stop and look around you and see what all you are blessed with.
Now… on to the thankful turkey. Last week, Kiera brought home a turkey that she had colored at school. It has six feathers that have a space to write down what they were thankful for. Her six items are: Mom, Dad, and Grandmommy, family, dogs and… dentist.
I’m going to take a picture of her thankful turkey and drop it by the dentist office. I feel fairly confident in saying that they probably do not usually make the top six items to be thankful for.
Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!
