32 reasons to be glad after my 31st year--QM

The best peanut butter pie I've ever had, available at Ronda's

I'm 32 today.
Yesterday Ethan said, "Well honey, after today, you'll never get your 31st year back again,"
and I replied rather caustically "Thank goodness."
But later my heart was pricked with the attitude behind my "good riddance to my 31st year" comment.
You see--

I've been listening to Exodus while I do dishes.

Those Israelites,
that ragtag crowd of slaves, they
ate roasted lamb
      with bitter herbs.
They knew 400 years of bitter treatment.
I have compassion for newly-freed slaves
      with scars cut deep into their strong backs,
       memories cut even deeper of
wet newborns silenced in the river
hearts and breasts sore from un-drunk milk,

I understand how they tripped up on trust, that their desert-thirst was bigger than their memory of the miracle of the Red Sea.

But I also understand the thundering of their-God-my-God, whom they drove to the brink of silencing forever their grumbling and complaining. I've never liked whining, even my own.

So, on this Ninth of March, I come to the Thundering Mountain, not trembling, but as a daughter—a grateful daughter, shoes off. I’m not necessarily forgetting the bitter salad of this past year, but I chose to focus instead on the feast of lamb with this list of 32 blessings. Most of these gifts would never have happened if I had been in the country and place of my choosing.

2014’s Spring

1  Meeting my beautiful niece Ariel and saying goodbye to her too, a hard gift

2     Driving through the misty flats of Delaware, the understated and under-appreciated beauty of home

3     Spur-of-the-moment meal invitations accepted by my sister

4     Dishwashers and stovetops with four burners instead of two

5     Story time at the Greenwood Public Library

6     Thrift Stores

2014’s Summer

7     Sweltering afternoons cooling off in the JAARS’ pool (James learning to swim!)

8     The surprise of working and loving the job as a JAARS Tour Guide

9   Cups of tea in the Wycliffe Counseling office and their compassionate conversations

10   Small pots made out of red North Carolina clay by Dorie, James, and their pack of neighborhood friends

11   Waxhaw Elementary School and a fantastic start to Dorie’s education

12  Stash tea, vinyl records, and deep friendship with the Sleeps

 13 Cavities missed or ignored by previous dentists, but found and filled here

14  A dozen delightful new friendships—John and Kristy Craig, to name one

2014’s Fall

15  Love shown in Orange: a table of sympathy full of orange flowers, orange lip balm & bath gel, and orange tissues on the hardest day of my year

16   A family vacation to Tennessee at the peak of the fall colors, and just when my heart needed time to gasp, to process the death of so many dreams, to gather strength, and to remember that the death of the chlorophyll is what brings out the beauty of Autumn.

17  Forever memories for Dorie and James of their GGma and GGpa (Ethan’s grandparents), a short two hour drive from our NC home

2014/2015’s Winter

18   Huddling up against the cold and enjoying Ethan’s family for two wonderful months—uncles, aunts, cousins, Omi and Opi, and lots of snow for James and Dorie to play with

19   Deepening friendships with Faith Bible Church, the Alianellos, and others

20   Meeting for a reunion with my RBC freshman-year girlfriends and our ever expanding brood—the good old days haven’t died

21   An easy transition back to Greenwood, Delaware—daily reminders of the rich community we enjoy

22   Sending Dorie to my old elementary playground, Greenwood Mennonite School

23   Saying hello to old friends—boxes and boxes of books packed away when we moved to Texas in 2011…we must claim the label ‘bibliophiles!’

24   Settling long enough to purchase a piece of furniture—a family sized bean bag!

25   Monday Game Night with my family

26   Landing a job doing exactly what I’ve wanted to do since high school—helping ESL students and their teachers

27   Reading time with Grandma Alene, a two minute walk away for James and Dorie

28   The joy of caring for elderly again: soapy washcloths, pureed food, answered bells, and wrinkled smiles

29   Attending Sewing Retreat

31.   A new job for Ethan (first day today!)

32.   Eating a Birthday Lunch with ‘the Yoder gals’ at Rondas (One of my favorite restaurants anywhere)

Here is to the changing seasons of life; to spring-green, verdant grass, Tennessee orange, and winter's white. This has been a year of change, but I'd be foolish to only grumble.