Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving


I woke this morning to a quiet house and a layer of frost covering everything outside. If I squint my eyes hard enough, I can almost imagine that it's snow.....

This is the first major holiday I have had since Todd moved out, and there was quite a bit of emotion building up to it. Holidays are times for family, and when your family has had major changes, well.... let's just say that can bring on the waterworks.

However, despite the changes, I know I am lucky. Todd and I still get along (mostly) and we are having Thanksgiving today, together (with some other friends too). Which means that we both get to spend Thanksgiving with the kids, and for this I am grateful. And, I must say that it was nice to wake up this morning in my own time to a quiet house. I have been drinking my coffee, making cranberry sauce, doing some chores, and enjoying the peace. And I plan to sneak in a run before the kids come over at noon.

And, since it's Thanksgiving, I may as well share some of my gratitudes from the past few days:
  • For the wildlife that surrounds me in the city. Just yesterday, there were 5 types of birds and 2 kinds of squirrels, in my front yard, all at the same time. As I am wriitng this, there are about 25 bushtits swarming the feeders. It makes me so happy. If you feed them, they will come. I love that my tiny city lot can offer enough wilderness to support these creatures.
  • For my friends and family who have been there for me to lean on during this time of transition. I know that I mention this almost every time I do a gratitude post, but I honestly feel so thankful every day for these people in my life.
  • For Phoebe and the way that she will randomly shout out "I love you mom!". It's a nice reminder. I think adults should do that more often. The world would definitely be a happier place.
  • For good music. Right? I have been listening to The Wood Brothers newest album, Paradise,  and it is amazing. I love them. I already have my ticket to see them when they come here in January. I have seen them several times and they never disappoint. Have you heard them? If not, I suggest you do. Luckiest Man is one of my favorite songs of all times. Grateful to the max for those guys.
  • For laughter. It's the best way to heal your soul, hands down.
What are you grateful for today?

Wishing you all a fabulous holiday weekend.
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6 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving to you too and thank you for this post. Families are anything but perfect - they are the source of our most profound happiness and our deepest pain. Thank you for sharing your perspective on things. Today, it is just Charly and I here for dinner this Thanksgiving, and while I am happy that our kids are all happily self-sufficient (which is why they aren't here) I have had moist eyes several times as I was helping Charly fix dinner this morning. This post really helped me to "get hold of myself" and look for the many things I have to be grateful for today. I really am thankful for you and your blog. Sending Thanksgiving love from AZ!

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    1. Deb- thanks so much for your kind words. It means so much to have you, and my blog friends, in my life-- even though you are so very far away. I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, even though it was quiet.

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  2. Beautiful list my friend. Thinking of you today. Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving.

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  3. You are a treasure, focusing on the positive. I hate when families change and alter. I was missing my daughter out in CA but then we talked every day and I know that I celebrated a bit with her over the distance.

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