Countdown to Thanksgiving

10/19/2017

I have photographed many things in my life. Most of all, some really beautiful people -- some physically beautiful and some with beautiful hearts. I have photographed animals big and small, beaches, tiny babies, cotton fields, flowers, trees, the sky, the snow, and lots of interesting buildings and places. Many years ago I saw a movie (a romantic comedy) where the main character (a photographer) photographed refuse. I must admit I had to look that word up because I had never heard it used that way before. Upon learning that she photographed garbage, I laughed and couldn't help but wonder why with all the beauty there is in this earth anyone would photograph garbage. And here I am, posting on my blog page, first and foremost, an image of old plumbing pipes that have served as poo canals for many, many years. It is unthinkable, even for me.

Yet, I've learned never, ever to laugh at what someone else does because I can almost guarantee you that you will find yourself doing the very same thing for which you have scorned others somewhere down the road. But as much as this image is totally gross and has no inherent beauty of its own, it has a great beauty to me in what it MEANS.

OLD LEFTOVER PLUMBING IS COMING OUT; BRAND-NEW PLUMBING IS GOING IN!!!

Can I hear an amen?! If you could see me now, you'd see me doing my happy dance. It is the best and most encouraging news relating to the renovation I've had in weeks. Even better than the holes being filled. Even better than the electrical being complete. Even better than the beautiful soaking tub that came in for the master bath and the adorable sink and farmhouse faucet tucked away for the half bath (but not for long, right, plumbing going in!!). I have waited and longed and literally pined for this day. It is starting to feel like a home...a real home with power and water and operating toilets, and my heart is happy and my bladder is so very grateful!

There are so many things for which I am grateful, though, and the plumbing is only one of them. It is very fitting that we celebrate Thanksgiving in the fall when everything is so beautiful and the land is being harvested and, even though many city folk no longer put away summer vegetables for the winter, I can remember my paternal grandmother shelling butter beans and shucking corn in the late summer to freeze and have garden-fresh vegetables all through the cold months, and those are the vegetables to which I compare all others to this day. I am so grateful for my heritage and those memories and they will forever be in my heart. There is no one who can match the cooking of my grandmothers and mother. So I am grateful for a country where we set aside a day entirely for the purpose of expressing thankfulness for the many blessings we enjoy.

I am thankful for my hubby and his right-hand man on this job. We have always been very blessed to have great help on our renovation projects. In the beginning my wonderful son-in-law was able to put in some hours and was a very valuable asset, as he partook of some of the dirtiest demolition I've seen to date in our work. I called him our quiet, gentle giant. Now our faithful Honduran friend has been there through the thick and thin, through some of the hardest and dirtiest work as well. I kid him and the hubs and tell them they are like two little spider monkeys, as they climb under the house in the belly of the filthy whale, and then climb into the attic and swing from rafter to rafter! Well, that might be an exaggeration, but they have spent countless hours in the hot upper agony of the house wiring recessed lighting and shoring up the old girl's bones. They are literally the hardest working men I know, and they end every day hobbling with aches and pains as they go home and nurse aging bones and sore muscles. They are truly my heroes, and for them I am grateful.

I am thankful to still have my 91-year-old father with me, for my kids and four beautiful, healthy grandchildren and all the rest of my family and friends. It is a tremendous blessing to be surrounded by people who love you and I never ever take that for granted. I am thankful for a roof over my head and breath in my lungs. I was blessed by a young man who served me at a fast-food window this week and agreed with me that just knowing he was able to get out of bed and go to work that day was a good reason to smile. We all have our burdens, and we all have our blessings. I guess because this is a season of gratitude and bounty, I would call it my favorite time of the year -- nothing extravagant, except for the spread of delicious food that adorns our tables, but that in and of itself is reason to feel like royalty. And, yes, I am thankful for toilets. Toilets are indeed a luxury in some countries and running water as well. I will never take my toilet or my hot running water for granted again.

So with Thanksgiving less than six weeks away, shall we start right now counting our blessings? If you have a working toilet and running water and food on the table (however humble it might be), you can start there. And I guarantee by the time November 23rd rolls around, you'll have a list so long that it will take you the whole day to count them one by one.