Thankful Circle

Now, back East and Mid-West U.S. where I used to live, snow was no excuse to take the day off from work and stay home... not unless it was a terrible ice storm downing power lines and making the roads dangerously slick, with the crew unable to work fast enough to make things reasonably operable.

In the Pacific Northwest that I call home for over half dozen years now, snow is not an accepted way of life, at least not in the Willamette Valley. And for the last almost 10 days, we've had quite a bit of snowfall, forcing people to stay indoors unless they absolutely have to step out for whatever reason...

As I cozily sit indoors gazing at Nature's fury and beauty, just thinking about the less-fortunate people struggling to stay warm this winter, let alone get enough nutrition, makes me shudder and send a silent prayer heavenwards...

...and thank Ana's teacher for a beautiful ritual she established in her class: kids sit in a circle and take their turn to say one thing they are thankful for that day.

Being kids, they sometimes say, "I am thankful for my pink tights" or "I am thankful for my race car lunchbox" or "I am thankful for this muffin my mommy packed for my dessert"... but, whatever they choose to say, it is beautiful that they start realizing there are so many things to be thankful for in this life.

Plus, Ana's teacher taught her this beautiful song that Ana has taken to singing several times a day while carrying on with her activities - sometimes improvising the tune ... it is set to the Frère Jacques tune (or, Are You Sleeping, as the kids know it here):

I am thankful
I am thankful
For these things
For these things
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
A nice warm place in winter
And songs to sing
And songs to sing