A Year of Gratitude – November 27, 2024

I found easy gratitude today. I didn’t have to think about it. It was right in front of me, bathed in sunlight.

I was in the farmhouse kitchen preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow. I had a few recipes in front of me, a list of the dishes we’ll be enjoying at our table this year, and a pencil in hand to check off my progress. The shopping was done. The planning was finished. All that was left was to start cooking and baking.

First up were the pies, my favorite part of holiday baking. Pie was among the first recipes I taught myself to bake. I can’t imagine how many pies I have made over the years. I started baking them as a teenager and just never stopped.

I like the precision of pie baking. The ingredients are simple as is the method. Yet it takes just enough of my concentration, my attention, that I can put down my cares for just a bit while I concentrate on making those humble ingredients into a flaky, delicious pie crust.

Every single pie I make brings me back to my childhood, to being in my grandmother’s kitchen. She made the most delicious pies. My pies can never live up to the memory of hers. They just can’t.

But with each pie, I am connected to her and every person who eats a slice of pie that I make is connected to her through me. I couldn’t be more grateful for being that conduit, for continuing the tradition and making pies for the people I love just like she did.

For all of you who are busy preparing for your Thanksgiving celebration, I hope that you find the same easy gratitude for continuing family traditions from years past and making new traditions to take you into the years ahead. You’re connecting your past, present, and future with each dish you make, with each person you share a meal with. I hope that you find as much joy in being a part of that as I did today.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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.