Happy Thanksgiving to you, Amy! I hope you manage to get your walk around the lake. If nothing else, know I’m thankful for our friendship and the group you’ve managed to wrangle together.
Thank you, Michelle. I’m grateful for the ways in which the simple act of drawing (and drawing our weeks) has brought some of us together this year. Your friendship means a lot. I hope you all have a nice day — in whatever shape that takes!
Happy Thanksgiving Amy. Thank you for always sharing so genuinely. I find there is always something in your words to hold on to and carry with me in my day, and I am grateful for that gift. I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving in whatever way you spend it.
Thank you, Erin. You have been a calm voice of support through the years, and I am always grateful. I miss seeing you in our drawing group. I hope that you have a peaceful day with your family.
I was surprised to see a post from you mid week! Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you get that walk or just draw all day! Thank you for your post and I am grateful you share your words and amazing art.
In Canada it was in October as you remember. Thanksgiving slipped by this year as my daughters and their families were out of town. Both were with in-laws. I am grateful for the days I get to see them. I do not need a holiday and a big meal to be thankful.
I did buy a small bottle of champagne and made a toast to my sister who had a birthday the same day! She doesn’t live close by. We FaceTime.
I am glad to hear about that bottle of champagne and the contact with your sister. It is important to make the day what we want! Have a good day, Gail!
I was so excited to see a post for you, a true thanksgiving treat, even though it made me cry.
It gave me a moment to think about why I am so hostile about thanksgiving now when I used to love it. I typed half a novel, but deleted it in favor of maybe putting it in my journal or into a post of my own.
I am grateful to have you in my life. Connecting with you, keeping an illustrated journal, and drawing with our Sunday group is the best thing to happen for me this year.
I am so glad this post reached you today. I care a lot about all of you who I have come to know in our group. As I said to Michelle, I am very thankful that we have all been brought together this year, joined first by the simple act of drawing our weeks. Usually people find me from the podcast, but I don’t think that was the case here, and so I am glad that somehow, circumstances or algorithms brought us together.
People don’t always stay (my fault, though I am sometimes at a loss as to why). I wasn’t sure I could continue the group this year, and you two showed up right around the same time. I am grateful. Thank you for your candor. Thank you for reading today and thinking it through. Thank you for writing your own response…. What I hope is that you find something in today that YOU claim for you. Have a peaceful day, Laura.
What beautiful writing, what deep thoughts. I have found myself thinking the same things, but couldn’t even begin to articulate them the way in which you have done. Things are difficult in my life, too, and I’m just searching for that bit of peace and restoration. It’s not going to happen today. But maybe tomorrow, or the day after. I’m sending thoughts in your direction. Life is both beautiful and very challenging. 💖
Thank you, Adah. I really appreciate this comment. From what you have said, I am sure you do understand these days. I hope that you were able to enjoy time together, that things are well enough for that. I hope you found something quiet and hopeful in your day, even one little thing. Peaceful thoughts to you and your family.
Amy, thank you for this honest piece of writing. Thank you for having the courage to press forward despite the unmet expectations. Thank you for giving the rest of us permission to feel disappointment while also taking responsibility. Thank you for the reminder that gratitude is always just a thought away. If you didn't get your walk, I hope you can take one in your mind. Draw yourself on that journey. See yourself in the spaces that bring you joy.
My husband awakened today with a sore throat. We've determined that it's not Covid (or at least that's what the test is telling us) and he's feeling up to the potluck we had agreed to join in a few hours. But, we ditched the other visiting we'd thought we might enjoy today. Our kids are too far to come home - we've not celebrated any of the major holidays together since 2018, the year the first one flew the coop. I miss them so. But, we make the best of what we have. I guess that's all we can ask of ourselves.
Grateful for you!
p.s. If I'm not mistaken, those turkeys are a breed called Broad-Breasted White. It's a weird tradition, if you ask me, this pardoning business. I know a little too much, I guess, so the gesture, while endearing on the surface, is irksome. But, I agree -- the birds themselves are quite impressive!
Elizabeth - Thank you for your comment and for summarizing so beautifully….. “Thank you for giving the rest of us permission to feel disappointment while also taking responsibility.”
I hope the test was true and that your husband only has something minor and that it is short-lived. I hope the potluck was enjoyable (and short on puddings)!
I appreciate your kind words. Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh…. And I find the pardoning very odd. It’s such a strange superficial thing. But I am always curious about the names. And I did enjoy learning more about blue heads!
Thank you for the unexpected post this morning. It is just what I needed to boost my energy for the upcoming theatre of sorts.....Thank you for your always honest words that create a well spring of thought and reflection and, yes, memory, of all past years and holidays. Keep the faith and know that you reach many hearts through your words.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Opal. I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable and that there were smiles and even some laughs. In the midst of everything, we still have those things. Yes, many years. I am grateful for the many years. You taught me much of what is in this post, so much of what I now draw upon on days like today. I am always thankful for that.
“I’m reminding myself that this isn’t the first time. I’m trying to breathe through everything that is rising up, once again, to swallow me.”
THIS.
And the incongruent layering of memories.
What a lovely, elegiac post. So resonant. So vulnerable and veiled all at once.
Thank you for this loveliness in the midst of chaos and The Triumph of Shopping that is this week. Thank you for the exhortation to peace and to action.
Thank you so much for this comment, for understanding the intent and mirroring back to me that somehow I was heard. I am grateful. I hope you had a peaceful day and that November closes out with softness.
Oh, Fran.... thank you. Thank you for reading and for letting me know it meant something. That, in turn, means a great deal to me. Peaceful thoughts as we close out the month.
I am late to comment as usual but our week was topsy turvy. This post really resonated with me and the reminder to “Be flexible. Be patient. Be present. Be kind.” was just what I need right now. I hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful and I am, as always, grateful for the wonderful group you have brought together. ❤️felt thanks.
Not late! I simply hope the words find people at some point, and sometimes when it is right. I am sorry the week was topsy turvy, but I hope things settled and all is well. I am always grateful for your presence in the group and your support, including thoughtful comments, through the years. Thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Amy! I hope you manage to get your walk around the lake. If nothing else, know I’m thankful for our friendship and the group you’ve managed to wrangle together.
Thank you, Michelle. I’m grateful for the ways in which the simple act of drawing (and drawing our weeks) has brought some of us together this year. Your friendship means a lot. I hope you all have a nice day — in whatever shape that takes!
Happy Thanksgiving Amy. Thank you for always sharing so genuinely. I find there is always something in your words to hold on to and carry with me in my day, and I am grateful for that gift. I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving in whatever way you spend it.
Thank you, Erin. You have been a calm voice of support through the years, and I am always grateful. I miss seeing you in our drawing group. I hope that you have a peaceful day with your family.
I miss drawing group too. I hope to get back soon. It is a lovely group of good people. You have way of gathering good people together.
I was surprised to see a post from you mid week! Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you get that walk or just draw all day! Thank you for your post and I am grateful you share your words and amazing art.
In Canada it was in October as you remember. Thanksgiving slipped by this year as my daughters and their families were out of town. Both were with in-laws. I am grateful for the days I get to see them. I do not need a holiday and a big meal to be thankful.
I did buy a small bottle of champagne and made a toast to my sister who had a birthday the same day! She doesn’t live close by. We FaceTime.
I am glad to hear about that bottle of champagne and the contact with your sister. It is important to make the day what we want! Have a good day, Gail!
I was so excited to see a post for you, a true thanksgiving treat, even though it made me cry.
It gave me a moment to think about why I am so hostile about thanksgiving now when I used to love it. I typed half a novel, but deleted it in favor of maybe putting it in my journal or into a post of my own.
I am grateful to have you in my life. Connecting with you, keeping an illustrated journal, and drawing with our Sunday group is the best thing to happen for me this year.
I am so glad this post reached you today. I care a lot about all of you who I have come to know in our group. As I said to Michelle, I am very thankful that we have all been brought together this year, joined first by the simple act of drawing our weeks. Usually people find me from the podcast, but I don’t think that was the case here, and so I am glad that somehow, circumstances or algorithms brought us together.
People don’t always stay (my fault, though I am sometimes at a loss as to why). I wasn’t sure I could continue the group this year, and you two showed up right around the same time. I am grateful. Thank you for your candor. Thank you for reading today and thinking it through. Thank you for writing your own response…. What I hope is that you find something in today that YOU claim for you. Have a peaceful day, Laura.
P.S. I was absolutely stunned by liberty and bell. I have never seen a turkey that looks like that, they are beautiful!
I agree…. They are beautiful!
What beautiful writing, what deep thoughts. I have found myself thinking the same things, but couldn’t even begin to articulate them the way in which you have done. Things are difficult in my life, too, and I’m just searching for that bit of peace and restoration. It’s not going to happen today. But maybe tomorrow, or the day after. I’m sending thoughts in your direction. Life is both beautiful and very challenging. 💖
Thank you, Adah. I really appreciate this comment. From what you have said, I am sure you do understand these days. I hope that you were able to enjoy time together, that things are well enough for that. I hope you found something quiet and hopeful in your day, even one little thing. Peaceful thoughts to you and your family.
Thank you, Amy 🌟💖🌟
Amy, thank you for this honest piece of writing. Thank you for having the courage to press forward despite the unmet expectations. Thank you for giving the rest of us permission to feel disappointment while also taking responsibility. Thank you for the reminder that gratitude is always just a thought away. If you didn't get your walk, I hope you can take one in your mind. Draw yourself on that journey. See yourself in the spaces that bring you joy.
My husband awakened today with a sore throat. We've determined that it's not Covid (or at least that's what the test is telling us) and he's feeling up to the potluck we had agreed to join in a few hours. But, we ditched the other visiting we'd thought we might enjoy today. Our kids are too far to come home - we've not celebrated any of the major holidays together since 2018, the year the first one flew the coop. I miss them so. But, we make the best of what we have. I guess that's all we can ask of ourselves.
Grateful for you!
p.s. If I'm not mistaken, those turkeys are a breed called Broad-Breasted White. It's a weird tradition, if you ask me, this pardoning business. I know a little too much, I guess, so the gesture, while endearing on the surface, is irksome. But, I agree -- the birds themselves are quite impressive!
Elizabeth - Thank you for your comment and for summarizing so beautifully….. “Thank you for giving the rest of us permission to feel disappointment while also taking responsibility.”
I hope the test was true and that your husband only has something minor and that it is short-lived. I hope the potluck was enjoyable (and short on puddings)!
I appreciate your kind words. Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh…. And I find the pardoning very odd. It’s such a strange superficial thing. But I am always curious about the names. And I did enjoy learning more about blue heads!
Thank you for the unexpected post this morning. It is just what I needed to boost my energy for the upcoming theatre of sorts.....Thank you for your always honest words that create a well spring of thought and reflection and, yes, memory, of all past years and holidays. Keep the faith and know that you reach many hearts through your words.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Opal. I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable and that there were smiles and even some laughs. In the midst of everything, we still have those things. Yes, many years. I am grateful for the many years. You taught me much of what is in this post, so much of what I now draw upon on days like today. I am always thankful for that.
“I’m reminding myself that this isn’t the first time. I’m trying to breathe through everything that is rising up, once again, to swallow me.”
THIS.
And the incongruent layering of memories.
What a lovely, elegiac post. So resonant. So vulnerable and veiled all at once.
Thank you for this loveliness in the midst of chaos and The Triumph of Shopping that is this week. Thank you for the exhortation to peace and to action.
(This is InkyToro/Catalina/Sarah)
Thank you so much for this comment, for understanding the intent and mirroring back to me that somehow I was heard. I am grateful. I hope you had a peaceful day and that November closes out with softness.
(And I am so glad to see you here!)
Yes, elegiac, the perfect word to describe this extraordinary post. It made me cry, too.
Oh, Fran.... thank you. Thank you for reading and for letting me know it meant something. That, in turn, means a great deal to me. Peaceful thoughts as we close out the month.
I am late to comment as usual but our week was topsy turvy. This post really resonated with me and the reminder to “Be flexible. Be patient. Be present. Be kind.” was just what I need right now. I hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful and I am, as always, grateful for the wonderful group you have brought together. ❤️felt thanks.
Not late! I simply hope the words find people at some point, and sometimes when it is right. I am sorry the week was topsy turvy, but I hope things settled and all is well. I am always grateful for your presence in the group and your support, including thoughtful comments, through the years. Thank you.