Small Pleasures

Thanksgiving is upon us.  I’m reminded of the Akathist of Thanksgiving attributed to a man in a prison camp who still found things to be thankful for.  There are so many good things that we can give thanks for regardless of circumstance.  Gratitude is a thing these days.  Like everyone else, I have listened to motivational podcasts and bought a gratitude journal.  My social media is full of people posting something they are thankful for each day in November.  Even so, it’s hard for me to make gratitude a daily practice, especially in seasons of my life filled with anxiety.

2020 has been full of global worries.  Will we get COVID.  Will we lose our loved ones in the pandemic?  Who will be our next president?  Will democracy continue in America?  Then there are worries closer to home.  Will my children get into a car accident?   Will I find out I have cancer?  Sophia’s car accident was minor.  She is off of pain medication and can almost bend her elbow enough to touch her shoulder when she crosses herself.  I had an abnormal mammogram, but the biopsies confirmed that everything is okay.  Still, nothing is promised, and these scares serve to remind me of what could be.

Somehow by the grace of God, this has been a wonderful week.  The clouds have lifted with the pumpkin-spice-scented autumn winds.  Moments of joy don’t descend on me like the weight of worry.  They lift me up to a place of gratitude where I can thank God for the good and beautiful things in this life. 

I was thinking about being thankful when Sophia and I brought our friend Magdalena to church for the first time last night since her foot surgery last summer.  I was thankful to the church for giving us feast days throughout the year, like the Entrance of the Theotokos, to keep us celebrating and remembering God.  Upon entering the church, the icons, incense, and chanting gave me a feeling of reality, of being home like I’ve found nowhere else.  While there I felt the little moments of joy throughout the week connecting me to God, reminders of how much He loves me.

Mom was my shining example of taking joy when it came to her.  She suffered with physical pain and depression on a grand scale, but her pleasure in morning tea, Saturday pancakes, and a beautiful sunset were unrivaled.  The pictures the kids drew for her were priceless treasures.  One of my favorite memories of Mom is seeing her swaying with the wind, standing in the yard under a tree, leaves rustling all around her.  She called it being out in a leaf storm.

The best thing about thinking on little pleasures is that there are so many of them.  Once I’m in a place to look for them, the day is punctuated with things to thank God for.  I want to list some of them that come to mind now so that later I can look back on this piece and be reminded.

Last week as I drove away after dropping Basil off to take an eight-mile hike with his school, he raced across the playground and leaped onto the merry-go-round covered with his classmates.  The crowd opened up to receive him and closed again in acceptance.  I fear rejection and heartache for my children, but life is also filled with acceptance and unconditional love.  It was wonderful seeing my child in that happy place.

A few days later as I was walking from the school to the car, something yellow fluttered in my peripheral vision.  It reminded me of fall and my vision was drawn above to the thinning canopy of yellow and brown leaves above me.  The vibrant yellow thing crossed my path looking less of a leaf and more of a pansy let loose in the wind.  It landed near the flowers planted near the school sign, a butterfly.  A promise of spring in yellow, Mom’s favorite color.

My friend Helen and I have begun working on pysanky eggs together.  There is nothing like the thrill of taking them out of the oven and wiping away the dark wax to reveal the bright colors of a finished egg.

Kicking up leaves.  Getting lost in a book.  Finishing writing the last test for the semester.  The look of love in my son’s eyes when he checks in with me.  Holding a child on my lap.  Talking with my daughter.  Hugging my husband.  The taste of warm peppermint hot chocolate.  A phone call with a friend.  The voice of a loved one.  The warm weight of a favorite sweater on a chilly day.  Fuzzy socks. 

Aside from these homey pleasures, I’m also thankful for the moon and the sun.  The wind in the trees.  Pumpkins and apples.  Autumn scents in the breeze.

Fall is my favorite season.  It’s good to be alive to enjoy it.  Thanks be to God.

We will be having a small family Thanksgiving dinner, our first Thanksgiving at home in years.  I pray your celebration is nice however it looks this year.