Single Photo Friday:: Thankful Tree

On this Friday after Thanksgiving I thought I would share with you what has become a new tradition in my family. More specifically, my brother's family. They bring construction paper cut into the shape of leaves to the big feast and we write our names on one side, and what we are thankful for on the other. Then my nephew (Monkeypants) and his mom (the Wild Weedin' Woman) find a branch in their yard and make a display in the house with everyone's thankful leaves on them. It's called the Thankful Tree.

They keep them from year to year, which partly tracks where my nephew is developmentally, but also where we all are/were as a family. Here is a photo from the first year we did this together.

The Thankful Tree, in its first year.

2007, and the leaf in the middle says 'Everyone is healthy' - which carried a lot of weight in my family at that time. My father died of cancer in early 2005, my brother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just over a year later, my mother had a patch of skin cancer removed from her face not long after that. So, having everyone healthy was a big deal.

I can look at this photo and still feel the heaviness that followed me around during that time. The way Thanksgiving would sneak up on me and deliver a big plate of emotional overload. But this year things finally seemed lighter, easier. So, I'm thankful for that.

My nephew has been thankful for some other things besides the health of the adults around him, including (but not limited to):
Wind
Llamas
Gazelles
Energy
Mommy, Daddy, Jakey, Jamma, Goat, and Juju (this would be his family)

and - one of my favorites - his hairstyle.

What's on your list of things to be thankful for?

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