Welcome Melissa, from A Happy Stitch to begin this week of "thankfuls". I first met Melissa when she and I helped to host (along with many other fabulous bloggers!) Rachael's Covert Robin gift exchange. It wasn't long before she and I were emailing each other back and forth, which then, eventually, is how BAC began! What a fun summer series that was, I am truly thankful for all of those amazing projects!
Melissa has been super busy lately, between teaching sewing classes, making and selling at craft fairs, and sewing up a storm making some super awesome clothes for her boys during KCW. But of course it's not all sewing...she and her boys do some amazing crafts together too, check out this collage and this book remake... 
Here are the things that Melissa is thankful for today...
When Jane asked me to share what I am thankful for as a part of her blog series I thought first of the typical things...my home, my loving relationship & family, my kids, my health and friendships. The longer I reflected on her request, however, the more I kept coming back to a certain Snapple bottle a friend of mine once dropped on the sidewalk. Thing is, I'm so thankful for everything I have already listed it's just that, too often, little inconveniences get in the way of my pure appreciation for those big things and I lose perspective.
That's where the Snapple bottle comes in.
One weekend,when I was in college, I was walking with two friends. One of them was holding a paper bag in one hand a full glass bottle of Snapple in the other. We were walking quickly, on our way to get somewhere, when she shifted the paper bag in her hands and the Snapple bottle slipped, fell, and hit the pavement. It shattered immediately. Syrupy juice and the tiniest pieces of glass (I still marvel at how many pieces of glass can come from one bottle of Snapple) flew everywhere. Once we assessed that no one had been cut or injured we quickly realized there was no way to clean up so many tiny pieces of glass. We were surrounded by government buildings and every one was shut down for the weekend. We just stood there looking down at the glass, the tiny dangerous bits, all over the sidewalk.
My very conscientious friend who had dropped the bottle said, "I can't believe I did this. This is the kind of thing I hate. If I stumbled across this I would imagine someone selfish and sloppy drunk purposely shattered glass on the sidewalk." And that is when my other friend provided the most amazing insight. "Well," she said, "I guess we can be thankful then. Next time we see shattered glass we will be able to imagine it was just an accident by a well-meaning person."
This literally rocked my world. If this broken glass bottle could be something to be thankful for...well, then anything is a treasure, every annoyance can be turned on its head to provide a way to see the world with as much hope and quiet forgiveness as possible.
With this in mind, I wandered through last week collecting my own versions of broken glass on the sidewalk. Here is what I came up with:
1. I'm thankful for my ugly commute....
It reminds me that I have work and am making money doing what I passionately love. It's also my chance to listen to the radio programs that are often in the background while I sew but don't get my true attention. I'm particularly thankful that this week I got to hear R.E.M.'s Orange Crush. I hadn't heard that in a long time and it would have been even longer without the ugly commute. (Did you know it was the 25th anniversary of their album Green? Me either. Thanks again commute. No thanks for making me feel old, though, could have lived without that.)
2. I'm thankful for a husband who forgets to make the bed...
It often provides the perfect opportunity for the cat to jump and toss herself around (when no one is looking) and that reminds me that sometimes there is great joy in disorder.
3. I'm thankful for the unquiet in my mind lately and the upheaval and change leaving me in need of guidance and consult...
It compels me to plan dinner with a beloved friend whose listening skills provided just the right kind of anxiety-quelling comfort and reassurance. Without that dinner we never would have started to exchange chapter books for our boys. And without that book exchange, I wouldn't have had this treasure dropped in a mailbox alongside a thoughtful note that left me feeling surrounded by support and understanding.
4. I'm thankful for some challenging reviews from teachers at school...
It reminds me to slow down and attend to the little people in my life. Reminds me to stop assuming they are fine and will be fine and do fine at school. They need me to be aware that sometimes they need my assistance and want my support. Just because nothing big is going on, doesn't mean I don't need to vigilant and aware of all aspects of their life.
5. I'm thankful for a hectic and busy week....
It makes the rare quiet moment so much sweeter and appreciated.
6. I'm thankful for my naturally impatient nature...
It makes small accomplishments feel like huge hurdles I have overcome.
7. Finally, and this is the hardest one to admit, I'm thankful for a reprimand from a fellow parent when something I said hurt her feelings.
It reminds me that we all have pain on the inside, a little closer to the surface than it sometimes appears from the outside. It also reminds me that even well-meaning people (like myself) sometimes say stupid things without realizing it. A little bit like a Snapple bottle that slips out of our hands and leaves a big, ugly mess we can't clean up. And even then, at our worst, we all deserve a little bit of grace and forgiveness.
Thank you so much for sharing wtih us today Melissa, I love the idea of being thankful for those "broken glass on the sidewalk" moments alongside the more typical ones. I am so thankful that we "met" each other and hope that someday we get a chance to actually meet in person!
Please stop by A Happy Stitch to check out more of Melissa's blog.
joy?
tenderness?
fun?
creativity?
connection?
family?
wonder?
friendship?
imagination?
laughter?
grace?
