Gathering

Grandma Judstra and one of her great grandkids. Sophie is just a few months old and, of course, very cute. Grandma is 88 years old, in the best shape she's been in physically in a few years, and full of humor, one-liners and old-time stories.

This is my favorite captured image of the day. It was a day, as are many when we are together, about the kids. The kids were the centerpiece of a thankful group. You could see that everyone was happy for the renewal the children bring. Also adding to their thankfulness was the good food, a Vikings win and lovely weather.

It's telling of our group that thankfulness for good food comes in as a near afterthought. None of us has worried much about where a meal was going to come from beyond whether it was from this source or that. None of us has wondered recently if their child was going to have food that day, or if we would have to find some other way to afford food besides just buying what we wanted. My mom's parents and her family were farmers, coming through the depression era experiencing that kind of possibility.

We have so much to be thankful for. Life, love, shelter, food - as one of my favorite coaches used to say, keep it simple. I'm inclined to go with that this holiday season, simply appreciating life, what we've created for ourselves, what we can create for ourselves. Thankful - yeah, me too.