Gratitude...Still

I don’t know if it’s possible to overstate how grateful I am for my family.

The day started with the 8 am service at St. John’s Church where Chip and I listened to an inspiring sermon on gratitude by Reverend Karen. Afterward, we went grocery shopping. So by 10 am when we were putting away groceries, we were feeling pretty accomplished.

Around noon, Charli and I went to try a new pho (pronounced fuh) restaurant, Thanh Binh. I’m not normally a huge pho fan, but this was delicious! Rice noodles, basil, jalapeno, broth, bean sprouts, lime juice, grilled chicken. Charli got Thai tea with boba, and I got plain Thai tea. It must not have contained a great amount of caffeine because I didn’t hit the roof and begin talking like an auctioneer. A couple of lact-aid tablets (there’s milk in the Thai tea) helped ensure safe transit to Irvine where we watched a community theatre production of High School Musical. One of Charli’s friends since kindergarten played the lead male role,Troy Bolton. Yes, I knew the words and sang along.

So that brings me to this evening.

We just spent about four hours discussing politics and life in general over Charli’s family birthday dinner, playing games, and laughing. A lot.

One of the games we played was called Who’s Most Likely To… You pull a card and read the statement and everyone decides who in the game is most likely to fit that description. One of the first statements was, “Volunteers to ride in trunk of car.” Although we hadn’t planned ahead of time to deal Chandler in on this game, the immediate spontaneous group response was, “Chandler.” Another such statement -- “Pees outside even though the bathroom is open.” The person who is voted “most likely to” the most times wins the game. Chandler won even though he wasn’t at the table as he would have been if not for December 15. I imagined Chandler grinning ear to ear, seeing our family laugh as we always have, still including him in the mix…an inextricable facet of who we are.

These people fill up my soul. I love their smiles, their laughter, their intellect, their hard work ethic, their sharp wit, their deep convictions, their willingness to question and grapple, their devotion to one another. Their love for Chandler and lack of hesitation to say his name.

These people are healing to me.

I began the day with a sermon on gratitude. I end the day with a heart full of it.