NOTE: I am a fan of 30-day challenges, and November is traditionally a time of two: National Novel Writing Month, and 30 Days of Thanks. As I am not a fiction writer, this year I have chosen to publish a daily blog for the entire month, expressing my gratitude. This may not be entirely food-focused, but expect recipes aplenty. Feel free to join me in the comments below. What are you thankful for today?

This is not how I envisioned this month going, blogging-wise.

The last time I did this challenge, it was a straight-up daily blog. There wasn’t the gratitude element to it, which I often complete every November in a journal instead, as a list.

There is no significance to this method – the separation of blog and list – except that it is often less challenging to simply make a list of the myriad ways I am blessed on a daily basis (#ToUseTheVernacular). A November challenge should be challenging, and I am Champion of the Listmakers.

It’s not that I didn’t write today – I did. But it was not this.

And I worked teaching yoga to small creatures who were very trying on this day but still managed to be beautiful.

And I made a pie and then spread that pie all over Baltimore on small white styrofoam plates, covered in foil.

So here I sit now at 9 p.m. in my kitchen, having just returned home from a poetry reading. I have snacked on some pie and some coconut cake and some of the delicious pumpkin pie ice cream that Khristian’s daughter made and am now tasked with following through on the challenge I have set myself.

Today that will come in the form of a list. #ItHappens

Today I am most grateful for:

1. Editors that get back to you immediately.
2. Lenar (spelling?) who is just about the nicest person on the planet
3. FaceTime because it allowed me to have a long, newsy chat with my Gorgeous Girl across the ocean
4. The Wire. Just because.

Tomorrow is another day.

What are you grateful for today?

NOTE: I am a fan of 30-day challenges, and November is traditionally a time of two: National Novel Writing Month, and 30 Days of Thanks. As I am not a fiction writer, this year I have chosen to publish a daily blog for the entire month, expressing my gratitude. This may not be entirely food-focused, but expect recipes aplenty. Feel free to join me in the comments below. What are you thankful for today?

The three of you that are following along on my 30 Days of Thanks may have noticed that I missed yesterday.

The struggle is real.

Not the struggle to write. I have a lot to say but can be very lazy and don’t physically write it down sometimes, but in general, #KnockWood, I can usually gather a few thoughts together and write when the rubber meets the road.

Not even really the struggle to be grateful. There are so many things that I am thankful for that I could start a list and add something to it every ten minutes until the end of November and still probably not be finished. Every day I am amazed and grateful for the people, animals, and other general things that happen. Even on the shittiest days.

My struggle these days is to remain hopeful.

Every morning I wake up, let the dogs out, make some coffee, let the dogs in, let the cat out, feed the dogs, drink my coffee, and check email, Facebook, etc.

The second I open up my electronics, my day goes south.

There is nothing hopeful about what is occurring right now. Everything my liberal friends are trying to do and say about what has transpired over the past week is completely overshadowed by the continued asshattery of cabinet appointments and other general bullshit coming from the president-elect.

This is not meant to be a political post, but I am not really sorry if you are offended. I am offended by the result of the race, but I won’t get into that here.

The writing is on the wall: the climate, minorities, women, LGBT community, and the rural poor and working classes (although they don’t know it yet) are all screwed, for years and years to come.

And it’s super easy to talk about coming together when you have control of all three branches of government.

So hope is not a thing with feathers, perching in my soul, and that feeling makes me wonder why even bother?

And yet. I have committed. I have said I would.

I tell my kid that when you have nothing else, you have your word. You can do what you say you will do. You can keep your promises.

This matters. This one little thing.

So for yesterday, I was thankful to receive a letter from my kid in France, along with a slew of pictures. She has a dog here in Baltimore (Winston, who misses her desperately), and she is currently cheating on him with this dog, Joy.

It was nice to get real mail (even though it was TOO SHORT), and I am going to write her an actual letter and send it along this afternoon.

Side note: If you came to her going away party and took an envelope, write that kid a letter. #PleaseAndThankYou

Today, I am thankful for coffee, a back that isn’t hurting at the moment, positive notes about the food I am making and delivering for people, and the fact that even though this morning is still young there might be other things to be grateful for later on.

If you know someone feeling a little hopeless today, take a moment and do something nice for them. Even if you don’t know someone who is feeling hopeless or overwhelmed, do something nice anyway. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you. Say something nice to a stranger. Hold the door and let someone go first. It’s not hard and requires very little psychic energy, but can you imagine what might happen if even half of the people in your life took on this challenge and just did one easy, nice thing?

That would be a real disruption to the status quo.

What are you grateful for today?

NOTE: I am a fan of 30-day challenges, and November is traditionally a time of two: National Novel Writing Month, and 30 Days of Thanks. As I am not a fiction writer, this year I have chosen to publish a daily blog for the entire month, expressing my gratitude. This may not be entirely food-focused, but expect recipes aplenty. Feel free to join me in the comments below. What are you thankful for today?

Between cooking for deliveries this evening, a yoga workshop this afternoon, delivering what I cooked, and a last-minute (delicious) invitation to venison pot-pie, there has not been much time for reflection.

So that’s what I am thankful for today – this hastily assembled blog post is brought to you by good food, good friends, and good yoga, all of which are what makes my world go ’round.

See you tomorrow.