When I was asked to write this column on what I was thankful for, I was sitting in the dark, shivering, at my kitchen table. The power had been out for a few hours because of a storm, and along with it, the heat. I found it slightly ironic that I should be making a list of what I love in life as I sat in the cold and the dark.
I looked out the back door through the pouring rain at our thermometer: it read 40°F. Eight degrees short of freezing and drenching rainfall sounded pretty bad as I was standing inside. Sure, I didn’t have heat or power- but I had a roof over my head and insulated walls around me to protect me from the storm and the cold.
So that’s item number one on my list: I am thankful for my house.
Seconds later, my cell phone vibrated on the table. My friend Garrett texted me, just to ask me how I was doing. I flicked through my inbox to read other messages I chose to save: “Hey Sarah’s new phone, this is Freddie Kreuger” from Stephenie; “No purring in my movie!” from Kelsey; “S.O.S. Call me!” from Jessica; “The game” from my brother Matthew-multiple times. Each message I read made me smile- for the conversations that followed, for the laugh they gave me, for the inside jokes they made.
The second item on my list is my friends.
I continued to flick through my messages and found that the majority of them are from my oldest brother Matthew since he graduated from Army basic training and he got his phone back. He gets to come home for two days in the Thanksgiving week, and I couldn’t be happier. My mother called then to tell us that she had finished helping my grandma clean for Thanksgiving and that she would stay the night there. Daddy sat in the next room organizing files for his 4th grade class on his computer. My brother Mark and his wife Crystal came home and we talked about our next day’s plans to see a movie with our sister-in-law Amanda.
My family is the third thing on the list of what I’m thankful for.
I walked into my bedroom to get one more candle to light on the table, and I tripped on a pair of boots and two blonde braids from a Halloween wig lying inconveniently inside the doorway. Both things were part of my costume for the musical Seussical in which I played a mountain goat. Since sophomore year, Theatre has introduced me to most of my friends, my favorite teacher- Morse- and a different and more accepting way to look at life and the people around me.
Theatre is number four on my thankful list.
When I sat back down, I decided to play some music on my- miraculously charged- laptop. As a sophomore, I fully realized my close connection with music and how much I loved to sing. I always have music playing and I’m always singing. Chances are, even when it’s dead silent, I’m singing in my head. Music constantly surrounds me now as a senior, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My first and foremost passion, music, is fifth on the list of what I’m thankful for.
As I text messaged my friends, I heard that Chico, Bridgeport, and Decatur all had power- but not Paradise, where I live. I was poised to grumble about how much I dislike Paradise, when I thought of how untrue that is. I often go for walks around Paradise and think of how beautiful it is- in a very eclectic way. Sure, some of the houses’ paint is peeling, and there are old rusting cars in certain driveways, but I find that beautiful. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be.
Sixth on my list is Paradise, which becomes a little more like its name every day.
About 15 minutes later, the power came back on and flickered off a few times.
Mostly, though, I am thankful that God has a sense of humor and chose to give me this crazy, amazing, beautiful, but sometimes confusing and a little bit cold, life.
