A Year of Gratitude – October 29, 2024

It’s easy to find a reason for gratitude when my family gathers around our dinner table. I was fortunate to be able to experience that happy moment this evening.

When I look around our table to see the people I love with all my heart, it fills me with so much gratitude that it’s difficult to contain it. If I let myself steep in that moment, the cares from the day seem to melt away.

Sure, those cares and worries will return, but they can wait for a moment when I am not in the presence of people who I care so deeply about. They can bother me when the table is empty, but not now.

For now, I want to be present in the moment, in the sharing of our lives and a bit of food to pass around the table. Tonight, we even had reason to light a few candles and end the meal with a homemade chocolate chip cookie cake. And yes, we all made a wish as we blew out the community candles.

I know that you’re not supposed to voice your wish aloud for fear of it not coming to fruition. I might as well share mine because you can probably guess what it was. Yes, I made a wish that we will have the chance to spend more nights gathered around this table together. There’s no gift greater for me than that.

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.