A Year of Gratitude – November 6, 2024

I found my gratitude with a whisk in my hand today. I have found gratitude there so many times over the years. I was so glad to find it there again today.

I was in the farmhouse kitchen baking a cake for my family. It’s a recipe I have made dozens of times. It has been a part of birthday and anniversary celebrations. It has been on our Easter table and topped with fresh, syrupy strawberries picked from our summer garden.

As I gathered together my ingredients, I could feel myself not being present in the moment. My mind was elsewhere, thinking about a project that has been commanding all of my attention. Even when I tried to compensate for that, my mind was still unable to focus on my baking.

I kept trying. It didn’t come easy today. I had to work at it, I had to concentrate on my breathing, on giving in to doing something I love for people I love.

As I cracked the eggs into the mixing bowl, I found that happy moment. I looked down at the blue and green eggs from our hens. I realized that this could be the final cake I bake from our fresh eggs until next year. That made this cake special, made me pay attention to it in a way that I had been ignoring only moments before.

Sure, any cake you bake is special. It has the ability to deliver comfort, to remind someone you share it with that they are loved. It’s more than a cake.

Today, it was a reminder that I can give myself these moments to engage in the activities I love. It’s not the sort of self-care that is usually talked about. It isn’t a day at the spa, but it was just the sort of relaxing and rejuvenating moment I needed today. And best of all, there was cake to enjoy around our dinner table tonight which is always a reason to be thankful.

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.