Thanksgiving List

My class just finished the wonderful book, Out of the Dust. This is a novel written in poetic verse. One of the chapters near the end of the book is just a list of things the girl in the book was thankful for. So today I made my kids do one of these lists for themselves. I wrote one too:

Thanksgiving List

Warm sunshine on my face, the symbolism
of trees,
babies laughter, friends who ask me hard questions,
Jesus,
driving in the car with my hand out the window
singing my heart out,
ice cream, foam soap, laughing till it hurts.
Brokenness.
My students for showing me how to
love selflessly and showing me what kind of
teacher I want to be.
Air conditioning, holding hands, sweet tea,
my bed, journaling, the smell of grass,
music,
laughing till it hurts, fresh dew on summer grass,
Isabella’s joyfulness,
Jesus clouds with rays of light stretching from their fingers,
letters from kindred spirits, friend dates,
rolling green hills in these Ozark Mountains,
amazing conversations when you should be in bed,
companionable silence, rich harmonies of choral music,
Mom singing,
friends who really want to know my heart,
reminiscing with sisters and Grant,
teacher friends,
lingering hugs, the crunch of fallen leaves,
knowing glances,
waking up to the sunrise, not being able to put a book down
spectacular green of spring, starry nights and sunsets,
long conversations with Mom while drinking iced tea,
being able to pee after holding it forever,
money to bless people with, teasing friends, sleepovers,
family bluegrass jam sessions, people who accept me with
scrunchies and all,
and the promise of a new beginning.