A Year of Gratitude – January 20, 2024
I found my gratitude early this morning in spite of the wicked winter cold. I woke up early and set my feet on the very cold floor of the farmhouse. The temperature outside was under ten degrees and I could feel that cold the moment I got out from underneath my blankets.
After Penny was fed, it was time to gather water and head outside for my morning round of farm chores. This is my least favorite time of year for farm chores. The cold is brutal and makes every step seem a bit more difficult. I was bundled up in every bit of winter gear I own trying to keep warm and choosing my steps carefully to try and avoid the slippery spots where snow has melted and refrozen.
I was so cold and trying my best to just finish up and get back inside the farmhouse when I discovered something remarkable. There was a fresh egg waiting for me in one of the nestboxes. One of our hens had laid this beautiful egg and kept it warm until I opened up the coop door.
Our hens usually return to laying around mid-February each year, so I hadn’t even begun to hope for the first fresh egg of the year. Yet here it was, waiting for me, kept warm by a hen so that it wouldn’t freeze on a morning when it certainly would have.
In that moment, I was given a reason to be grateful. That gratitude and the delight of discovering a fresh egg helped me to forget the cold for a few minutes while I completed my chores.
I came back inside the farmhouse and warmed myself up in front of the pellet stove before pouring a cup of hot coffee and snuggling up on the couch with Penny Lane to work on my knitting.
Gratitude is everywhere if you look for it, if you choose to see life’s small gifts as reasons to be grateful. And yes, a chicken can really give you a reason to be grateful. I have the fresh egg to prove it.
I hope that you found your own gratitude today and that the day landed gently.
This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.