Such a beautifully written love note to the common everyday miracles we take for granted or just miss. I’m awakened to being fully present and appreciative of the gifts that abound in the path of the living of a hectic, ordinary life. Thanks, Elizabeth, and happy thanksgiving.
Ooh, love note. I *love* that, Sherry, and am honored to know I sparked an awakening. An intention I set this morning, in fact, was that of being fully present. I'm not sure it's a state the human mind does willingly, but it sure is remarkable when it comes. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday.
Friends, when this post first went live, a setting in the wrong mode shut out non-paid subscribers from the comments. It should be fixed now. Apologies to anyone who wanted to pour their thoughts onto the page here and couldn't. There's a cause for gratitude in there somewhere, right? ☺️
I am grateful for customer service reps who far exceed my expectations by caring about their job. I always thank these people, who make very little money and don’t have many shots at what I’d consider satisfaction in their working day.
Rona, you've made me realize I may have done a disservice to CSRs everywhere by calling out the few who are unable to satisfy a request. I'll think about modifying that when I have the time to revamp the audio.
Meanwhile, thank you for being the kind of person to acknowledge what they do. Or should I just say "the kind person...?" Grateful for the comment.
I once had a summer job as a reservations agent for Holiday Inn. From a central office, I made bookings far and wide. Some people yelled at me when I couldn’t get them what they wanted. One lovely man asked my name and thanked me for my help bpoking a road trip. He said he would ask for me again. I’ve always remembered the gow.
Love you back, Susanne. I can imagine that 1,000 watt smile of yours as I type! I so appreciate your engagement, for taking the time in the midst of a busy week, and for sharing your thoughts here.
So many reasons to be grateful. It’s just the yucky stuff that gets all the press. Grateful we were brought together and remain in touch. Have a wonderful holiday.
I occasionally go out intentionally looking for good news. There are some sites that specialize in it (like goodnewsnetwork.org) and it's always a boost to immerse myself in the positive side of humanity for a change. Good to know you're over there on the other side of the nation with your sunny side up, Teresa. Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful that I am not part of getting people from here to there this year. It feels wildly indulgent to sit it out and have my own celebration. I love your honesty as always.
Phew - ain't that the truth!? There's a tendency for people to express sympathy when I say we're staying home for this or that holiday. Much as I miss the people I might want to be with, I don't miss the madness of getting there. You would know better than many, Eileen!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope your Nicksgiving is (was?) a hit!
I love the list of things you are thankful for, and the reminder that so many of them are small things that carry big things (the Uggs, which are about both comfort and the love we feel for our kids). I have been feeling a little blue that I will not get to see my daughter this holiday season (for the first time since Covid kept us all apart), but your words remind me that I'm thankful she and her husband are going to have their first holiday just the way they've long wanted it: In their own home, just the two of them, no long drive or air flight required. (Also, unrelated but I just want to say: I love the plates in your Thanksgiving table photo.) Wishing you and all whom you love a day full of gratitude and other good things. I'm grateful for the work you share here.
I sure can empathize with the wistfulness of not seeing your people for the holidays. In fact, that 2021 photo was the last time we shared Thanksgiving with any of our immediate kin. Thankfully, we get scooped up by dear friends who make us feel welcome and loved.
I appreciate that you noticed the plates. The floral ones belonged to my maternal grandmother, who died in the early 70s. She only had a few place settings, so I opted to combine forces, so to speak, and get a solid pattern that coordinated with hers.
And Rita, I have to tell you, I almost put librarians (and books) on my list but decided teachers and schools would have to suffice. Once you start listing, it's hard to stop! Thank you, as always, for your contributions here and at Rootsie.
Well, librarians in schools are teachers, too, so I think it's all good! Love your solution for the plates, and now that I know the backstory I think your plates are even more beautiful.
Probably not what you intended, but it made me see you a bit differently.
My mother was not a coarse woman, though she wasn’t excessively proper either. She used to tell a story about her doctor (she was congenitally unhealthy and saw him throughout her life) who told her it was perfectly acceptable for a lady to say “shit,” since it simply described something that smelled unpleasant.
I’ve mostly known you through your supportive relationship with Janice, and you’ve always struck me as almost “motherly.” So, you can imagine my surprise when I read a post in which you used both “shit” and “STFU.” It made me rethink my entire mental picture. 😂
Of course, that says far more about my assumptions than about you. Still, you present yourself publicly as “Elizabeth,” which I associate with a certain formality. A “Liz” or “Betty” might resort to that language, but Elizabeth? I’m still sorting that out!
Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and yours … 😎🙏✌️
Scott, I've been musing over and amused by this comment for two days now. It's both unexpected and amazing. Since Janice and I are not too far from the same age, I'm intrigued that you picked up a motherly tone. I do want the best for people in my orbit and see myself as a kind of caretaker, so there's that. The mental picture piece? Perhaps it's enough to say that I'm a former sailor. I'm glad I could brighten up both our worlds with a bit of colorful language. I am no stranger to it and it's not the first time I've opted to put in in print. Your mother and I might've gotten on well!
My mother called me “Scotty” well into adulthood. It never stuck and nobody else used it past childhood.
In the Marine Corps I was always referred to by my surname.
Mrs. Corner (my wife, who I publicly refer to as, “Mrs. Corner”) calls me “Honey” and when she calls me “Scott” it goes in one ear and out that other. If I do catch it, I generally ask if she’s “taken up with another man?”
I teach in a private school with a semiformal environment wherein the students refer to the faculty with their courtesy titles: “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, or “Miss”, unless you carry the title of “Coach”; and then all - students, faculty, administrators, parents, and fellow coaches - address you as “Coach”.
My own children publicly referred to me as “Coach” into adulthood, but that has changed with a granddaughter who has re-monikered me, as they are want to do. This conveniently having been immortalized on a coffee mug: “Papa - Knows - Everything”.
“There’s so much more to us than what we are called, our stories much more complex than the labels we are given, or choose.” - - - And yet, our stories and our labels can define us, dare say trap us, in an identity that can prevent us from growing, evolving. Ten years ago I grew a beard and a mustache, that I wear a little long and a little scruffy, so that people, people I know and strangers alike, would approach me differently. It’s a mask, but a pleasant one. I’m not always as relaxed on the inside as I appear on the outside.
As Janice knows, our students participate in a ministry program at the prison in our county. The reality is that the inmates have an opportunity to minister to our students in a way that helps them grow. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
The final lesson of the seven week program is, “BE - DO - HAVE”. The premise of the lesson is that most of us go through life with a “Do - Have - Be” mindset: If “I Do” these things, “I’ll Have” this title, and “I’ll Be” this person.
The lesson of course: Be the person you want to be, do the things that person would do, and you’ll have peace. The rest will sort itself out.
“I am a composite of every name I’ve ever been called …” Cheers!
Scott you always shed a new light, and I said that about Elizabeth earlier today; I have learned from you both. So interesting that I would sit down and catch up with a glass of red wine this evening and decide to delve into all the comments. I'm crazy fortunate to have you both and will never imagine her as anything other than Elizabeth with wholesome teeth. Her support has made me smile every week.
I can remember, Scott, when I first heard my own mother swear and was rather amazed as I had chewed on bars of Ivory for the same offense. Ah well, that had been some years prior.
My family's solution to the holiday travel thing was a unique one. Since I lived in Colorado or out west somewhere most of my adult life until I actually returned, Christmas would wait until my arrival, no matter when that was, often mid-January as I worked at ski resorts and had a catering business that went beyond even New Years celebrations. By then it was crisp and clear and cold and quiet, and they left the trees up, either at my dad's 'camp' or my brother's home or both. A wonderful memory to convey here. We figured the holiday is only a date, it's the people that count so we celebrated ourselves whenever we could all be together. Love your photo with the candles. ~J
With my nuclear and extended family spread hither and yon, I no longer have any expectation of us being together for any holiday. That both kiddos happened to be home last Christmas was remarkable. Anytime--regardless of where it falls on the calendar--is a gift.
Sorry you were made to eat Ivory soap. Wholesome teeth - haha! Thanks, Janice!!
Wonderful thanksgiving note. Fourteen hours, oh my. In the beginning, our families were close enough to drive there and back for holidays in the same day. People would gather and then go home. The drives grew longer, ours longer, and we grew older and all began to realize that we could forgo the large 'holiday' gatherings and be content to see each other throughout the year. I still miss the days of all the aunts and uncles coming together, remembering and telling their stories, a thread to the past was lost. Thank you for the reminder to remember with gratitude all the small things, the people keeping life spinning while we rest and the pleasure of making beauty out of a small gathering of bits and pieces of an autumn day.
Thank you, Leslie. Yes, our holiday needs shifted over time, landing in a different kind of good place. I'm glad you found a similar, if different, place to land. So grateful for your comment, how you clearly read so carefully, and that you took the time to share your thoughts.
Every time I fly, I'm astonished by the TSA employees. They're doing a hard job well and for the most part, are cheerful and helpful while doing it. (I'm weird in that I like both airports and hospitals. I plan to write about that...) I haven't evolved enough yet to be thankful for the people who make me cry (sad tears) but maybe I'll get there. I loved your list.
Isn't that the truth!? So many people in so many jobs, actually, that I think would make me lose every shred of civility, were I to be in their shoes. I look forward to reading about this particular affinity of yours. I'm fascinated already!
I can't say I'm thankful for the sad experiences, but I do wind up grateful for what I learn as a result. Thank you, Wendy. I wear my Love Thugs buttons often (today even) and think of you every time!
I'm so grateful for our connection here in Substackland, for the beautiful message/nature collage you've put together, for your wise words, and for the reminder to drop the things from our repertoire that no longer serve us (a seven-hour drive that turns into a fourteen-hour one is a plenty good enough reason to... not).
Also, right there with you with the ADHD, which is a blessing on some days and less so on others. Meanwhile, off to count the many little gratitudes and miracles that I might have glanced over and ignored before I read your lovely post!
Oh, friend -- what a treasure of a comment. The connections made here are amazing. Not all of them, of course -- but when they are, they are! Thank you for reading so carefully and responding so warmly, and fist bumps for the ADHD, and do let me know what shows up that you might have not noticed before. 🧡 Thank you, Irena...!
Three THOUSAND miles??! Wow, John. That's quite a trip. Surely doing that on something other than a working-person's schedule made it much more enjoyable. Was this the one you and your partner did portions of separately? Or are the two of you just the traveling type? 😅
This was a separate trip. My wife was planning to fly, but her flights were put on a cancellation watch during the shutdown, so she decided to drive, and I decided to tag along! Next year we're getting a van!
Oohh...a van! A friend of mine recently renovated the interior of a used, hybrid Toyota Sienna to serve as a camper van. A former Westfalia owner, she did an amazing job. There are also kits that take all the guesswork out of it. What van are you considering? Love that you're making this plan and am a little envious.
After spending ten years remodeling our house, we don’t have the energy (or the years left!) to do the conversion ourselves. Here’s the company - https://rafttiger.com/
Thank you, Amy. It's kind of awesome, I think, that whole lives are made up of big and small - mostly small. Thanks for the honor of your shared thoughts.
Such a beautifully written love note to the common everyday miracles we take for granted or just miss. I’m awakened to being fully present and appreciative of the gifts that abound in the path of the living of a hectic, ordinary life. Thanks, Elizabeth, and happy thanksgiving.
Ooh, love note. I *love* that, Sherry, and am honored to know I sparked an awakening. An intention I set this morning, in fact, was that of being fully present. I'm not sure it's a state the human mind does willingly, but it sure is remarkable when it comes. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday.
Friends, when this post first went live, a setting in the wrong mode shut out non-paid subscribers from the comments. It should be fixed now. Apologies to anyone who wanted to pour their thoughts onto the page here and couldn't. There's a cause for gratitude in there somewhere, right? ☺️
I am grateful for customer service reps who far exceed my expectations by caring about their job. I always thank these people, who make very little money and don’t have many shots at what I’d consider satisfaction in their working day.
I, too, am grateful for kindness anywhere, including from people in very tough jobs.
Your gratitude shows in your writing, Judith. And boy, if there aren't a lot of people out there in very tough jobs!
Thank you for joining the conversation.
Rona, you've made me realize I may have done a disservice to CSRs everywhere by calling out the few who are unable to satisfy a request. I'll think about modifying that when I have the time to revamp the audio.
Meanwhile, thank you for being the kind of person to acknowledge what they do. Or should I just say "the kind person...?" Grateful for the comment.
I once had a summer job as a reservations agent for Holiday Inn. From a central office, I made bookings far and wide. Some people yelled at me when I couldn’t get them what they wanted. One lovely man asked my name and thanked me for my help bpoking a road trip. He said he would ask for me again. I’ve always remembered the gow.
Thank you again for putting into words my thoughts and feelings. I love your writing and I love you. So grateful!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Love you back, Susanne. I can imagine that 1,000 watt smile of yours as I type! I so appreciate your engagement, for taking the time in the midst of a busy week, and for sharing your thoughts here.
So many reasons to be grateful. It’s just the yucky stuff that gets all the press. Grateful we were brought together and remain in touch. Have a wonderful holiday.
I occasionally go out intentionally looking for good news. There are some sites that specialize in it (like goodnewsnetwork.org) and it's always a boost to immerse myself in the positive side of humanity for a change. Good to know you're over there on the other side of the nation with your sunny side up, Teresa. Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful that I am not part of getting people from here to there this year. It feels wildly indulgent to sit it out and have my own celebration. I love your honesty as always.
Phew - ain't that the truth!? There's a tendency for people to express sympathy when I say we're staying home for this or that holiday. Much as I miss the people I might want to be with, I don't miss the madness of getting there. You would know better than many, Eileen!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope your Nicksgiving is (was?) a hit!
I love the list of things you are thankful for, and the reminder that so many of them are small things that carry big things (the Uggs, which are about both comfort and the love we feel for our kids). I have been feeling a little blue that I will not get to see my daughter this holiday season (for the first time since Covid kept us all apart), but your words remind me that I'm thankful she and her husband are going to have their first holiday just the way they've long wanted it: In their own home, just the two of them, no long drive or air flight required. (Also, unrelated but I just want to say: I love the plates in your Thanksgiving table photo.) Wishing you and all whom you love a day full of gratitude and other good things. I'm grateful for the work you share here.
I sure can empathize with the wistfulness of not seeing your people for the holidays. In fact, that 2021 photo was the last time we shared Thanksgiving with any of our immediate kin. Thankfully, we get scooped up by dear friends who make us feel welcome and loved.
I appreciate that you noticed the plates. The floral ones belonged to my maternal grandmother, who died in the early 70s. She only had a few place settings, so I opted to combine forces, so to speak, and get a solid pattern that coordinated with hers.
And Rita, I have to tell you, I almost put librarians (and books) on my list but decided teachers and schools would have to suffice. Once you start listing, it's hard to stop! Thank you, as always, for your contributions here and at Rootsie.
Well, librarians in schools are teachers, too, so I think it's all good! Love your solution for the plates, and now that I know the backstory I think your plates are even more beautiful.
I really enjoyed this post.
Probably not what you intended, but it made me see you a bit differently.
My mother was not a coarse woman, though she wasn’t excessively proper either. She used to tell a story about her doctor (she was congenitally unhealthy and saw him throughout her life) who told her it was perfectly acceptable for a lady to say “shit,” since it simply described something that smelled unpleasant.
I’ve mostly known you through your supportive relationship with Janice, and you’ve always struck me as almost “motherly.” So, you can imagine my surprise when I read a post in which you used both “shit” and “STFU.” It made me rethink my entire mental picture. 😂
Of course, that says far more about my assumptions than about you. Still, you present yourself publicly as “Elizabeth,” which I associate with a certain formality. A “Liz” or “Betty” might resort to that language, but Elizabeth? I’m still sorting that out!
Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and yours … 😎🙏✌️
Scott, I've been musing over and amused by this comment for two days now. It's both unexpected and amazing. Since Janice and I are not too far from the same age, I'm intrigued that you picked up a motherly tone. I do want the best for people in my orbit and see myself as a kind of caretaker, so there's that. The mental picture piece? Perhaps it's enough to say that I'm a former sailor. I'm glad I could brighten up both our worlds with a bit of colorful language. I am no stranger to it and it's not the first time I've opted to put in in print. Your mother and I might've gotten on well!
As for Elizabeth -- well, you tapped into something there beyond your awareness. https://www.elizabethbeggins.com/p/name-dropping 😂
I hope the holiday was good to you, and thanks for a comment I'll remember long after I hit reply here.
My mother called me “Scotty” well into adulthood. It never stuck and nobody else used it past childhood.
In the Marine Corps I was always referred to by my surname.
Mrs. Corner (my wife, who I publicly refer to as, “Mrs. Corner”) calls me “Honey” and when she calls me “Scott” it goes in one ear and out that other. If I do catch it, I generally ask if she’s “taken up with another man?”
I teach in a private school with a semiformal environment wherein the students refer to the faculty with their courtesy titles: “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, or “Miss”, unless you carry the title of “Coach”; and then all - students, faculty, administrators, parents, and fellow coaches - address you as “Coach”.
My own children publicly referred to me as “Coach” into adulthood, but that has changed with a granddaughter who has re-monikered me, as they are want to do. This conveniently having been immortalized on a coffee mug: “Papa - Knows - Everything”.
“There’s so much more to us than what we are called, our stories much more complex than the labels we are given, or choose.” - - - And yet, our stories and our labels can define us, dare say trap us, in an identity that can prevent us from growing, evolving. Ten years ago I grew a beard and a mustache, that I wear a little long and a little scruffy, so that people, people I know and strangers alike, would approach me differently. It’s a mask, but a pleasant one. I’m not always as relaxed on the inside as I appear on the outside.
As Janice knows, our students participate in a ministry program at the prison in our county. The reality is that the inmates have an opportunity to minister to our students in a way that helps them grow. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
The final lesson of the seven week program is, “BE - DO - HAVE”. The premise of the lesson is that most of us go through life with a “Do - Have - Be” mindset: If “I Do” these things, “I’ll Have” this title, and “I’ll Be” this person.
The lesson of course: Be the person you want to be, do the things that person would do, and you’ll have peace. The rest will sort itself out.
“I am a composite of every name I’ve ever been called …” Cheers!
Bravo, Scott! Love that conclusion and all the detail leading up to it. You know what they say: "Just don't call me late for dinner!"
The connections you and your students are making with incarcerated people, and vice versa, must be quite profound. Thank you for sharing all of this!
Scott you always shed a new light, and I said that about Elizabeth earlier today; I have learned from you both. So interesting that I would sit down and catch up with a glass of red wine this evening and decide to delve into all the comments. I'm crazy fortunate to have you both and will never imagine her as anything other than Elizabeth with wholesome teeth. Her support has made me smile every week.
I can remember, Scott, when I first heard my own mother swear and was rather amazed as I had chewed on bars of Ivory for the same offense. Ah well, that had been some years prior.
My family's solution to the holiday travel thing was a unique one. Since I lived in Colorado or out west somewhere most of my adult life until I actually returned, Christmas would wait until my arrival, no matter when that was, often mid-January as I worked at ski resorts and had a catering business that went beyond even New Years celebrations. By then it was crisp and clear and cold and quiet, and they left the trees up, either at my dad's 'camp' or my brother's home or both. A wonderful memory to convey here. We figured the holiday is only a date, it's the people that count so we celebrated ourselves whenever we could all be together. Love your photo with the candles. ~J
With my nuclear and extended family spread hither and yon, I no longer have any expectation of us being together for any holiday. That both kiddos happened to be home last Christmas was remarkable. Anytime--regardless of where it falls on the calendar--is a gift.
Sorry you were made to eat Ivory soap. Wholesome teeth - haha! Thanks, Janice!!
Wonderful thanksgiving note. Fourteen hours, oh my. In the beginning, our families were close enough to drive there and back for holidays in the same day. People would gather and then go home. The drives grew longer, ours longer, and we grew older and all began to realize that we could forgo the large 'holiday' gatherings and be content to see each other throughout the year. I still miss the days of all the aunts and uncles coming together, remembering and telling their stories, a thread to the past was lost. Thank you for the reminder to remember with gratitude all the small things, the people keeping life spinning while we rest and the pleasure of making beauty out of a small gathering of bits and pieces of an autumn day.
Thank you, Leslie. Yes, our holiday needs shifted over time, landing in a different kind of good place. I'm glad you found a similar, if different, place to land. So grateful for your comment, how you clearly read so carefully, and that you took the time to share your thoughts.
Thank you. ‘Nuf said.
☺️ Yes -- sometimes that's all that's needed. Same to you!
Every time I fly, I'm astonished by the TSA employees. They're doing a hard job well and for the most part, are cheerful and helpful while doing it. (I'm weird in that I like both airports and hospitals. I plan to write about that...) I haven't evolved enough yet to be thankful for the people who make me cry (sad tears) but maybe I'll get there. I loved your list.
Isn't that the truth!? So many people in so many jobs, actually, that I think would make me lose every shred of civility, were I to be in their shoes. I look forward to reading about this particular affinity of yours. I'm fascinated already!
I can't say I'm thankful for the sad experiences, but I do wind up grateful for what I learn as a result. Thank you, Wendy. I wear my Love Thugs buttons often (today even) and think of you every time!
Awww! That's so nice to hear! I may have originated the term, but Eileen made it a THING. (And I'm really glad she did.)
Teamwork dreamwork, baby!
Totally! We are a warm, creative brain trust!
Oh it's YOU!! lovely to 'meet' you. I sport LOVE THUG buttons. Well done. ~J
It’s ME! Nice to meet you, too, fellow love thug! ☺️
I'm so grateful for our connection here in Substackland, for the beautiful message/nature collage you've put together, for your wise words, and for the reminder to drop the things from our repertoire that no longer serve us (a seven-hour drive that turns into a fourteen-hour one is a plenty good enough reason to... not).
Also, right there with you with the ADHD, which is a blessing on some days and less so on others. Meanwhile, off to count the many little gratitudes and miracles that I might have glanced over and ignored before I read your lovely post!
Oh, friend -- what a treasure of a comment. The connections made here are amazing. Not all of them, of course -- but when they are, they are! Thank you for reading so carefully and responding so warmly, and fist bumps for the ADHD, and do let me know what shows up that you might have not noticed before. 🧡 Thank you, Irena...!
We're just back from a 3,000 mile road trip to see my stepdaughter and her partner for an early Thanksgiving!
I'm grateful for this, Elizabeth, thank you.
Three THOUSAND miles??! Wow, John. That's quite a trip. Surely doing that on something other than a working-person's schedule made it much more enjoyable. Was this the one you and your partner did portions of separately? Or are the two of you just the traveling type? 😅
This was a separate trip. My wife was planning to fly, but her flights were put on a cancellation watch during the shutdown, so she decided to drive, and I decided to tag along! Next year we're getting a van!
Oohh...a van! A friend of mine recently renovated the interior of a used, hybrid Toyota Sienna to serve as a camper van. A former Westfalia owner, she did an amazing job. There are also kits that take all the guesswork out of it. What van are you considering? Love that you're making this plan and am a little envious.
After spending ten years remodeling our house, we don’t have the energy (or the years left!) to do the conversion ourselves. Here’s the company - https://rafttiger.com/
beautiful. your words make my heart smile and exhale.
Thanks, Roe. An exhaling heart sounds just right, as long as it remembers to inhale again. :)
This is beautiful, Elizabeth. There is such lovely cadence to reading through a list of gratitudes like this. The "jump to recipe" button ;) --
Such lists are always enlivened by the combination of big and small, and you illustrate that wonderfully. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving week.
Thank you, Amy. It's kind of awesome, I think, that whole lives are made up of big and small - mostly small. Thanks for the honor of your shared thoughts.
Beautiful!
Thank you, Kimberly!! Sorry I missed this before now.