Happy November! Happy Thanksgiving!
"My lovely November, Have you seen my heart, somewhere in your castle of yellow leaves?" ~ unknown |
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We created this beautiful kitchen island for a family farm in Harrisville NH.
It features a Black Walnut top with a dark stained Pine base.
2 dovetailed drawers on soft close, under mount slides
Center cabinet with one adjustable shelf
and a lower shelf for extra storage
A few select offerings available in our HOME boutique shop
USE CODE:
10OFF4U
to save 10% off listed price, always free shipping
Unwrapping Life
Its November, and the glorious riot of Autumn is over. Until Winter settles in, it will be Stick Season, that lovely, mellow time in between. I love this moment of the year. It’s a quiet time, a season to reflect and gain introspection into my own inner workings. The passage of time and the human journey move ever onward, even in the moments when everything seems unchanging, slowly and unobtrusively we awaken to a new reality. Yet, in it all, there is glory and wonder and with a grateful heart, I let time slip through my fingers as I count my blessings one by one.
I am grateful that for twenty-three years I have had the privilege of being Ian’s mom, watching my little baby boy become a man. In September, he bought a house. My heart deeply and truly knows dual truths: my pride in him, for his hard work from a young age, saving for his dream. yet the sadness of letting him walk out of our door and in through his own. Somehow it happened, and nobody asked my heart if it was ready. Yet, I am so grateful that our prayers were answered; we had prayed he would find a little place close to home, and now, within ten minutes, he can be in one place or the other.
I am grateful for friendships far and near, with those much older and those much younger, for the choice to reach out and find that years have not erased the love and trust between old friends.
I am grateful that I was given one of my beloved late grandmother’s sauce pots. I use it almost daily and always its as if her hand still holds mine - a tangible piece of her unwavering love and quiet courage that has stayed steady through the decades since her passing.
I am grateful for the thousand plus miles I have walked this year. My lovely wooded trails were here long before I and they will remain long after I am gone. Little do they know how intimately I love and know them, or how they have seen me through every fear, question and hurt but also every joy. I am grateful that I have learned to never make a decision in anger, fear, hope or wishfulness without first walking through my myriad of emotions, It is only then I can find my way forward with a clear answer. I am grateful that the forest holds within it airborne essential oils that I can breathe in, their healing power working wonders on my own immune system. I know that the forest heals physically
as well as emotionally. At my first symptoms of feeling off, I know that walking through the
woods will be my first antidote.
I am grateful that I can say I have a favorite rock, actually it’s a group of three boulders perched on the top of a knoll in the back upper hayfield. Almost daily I visit them, and they never fail to bring me joy and a sense of anchoring. They remind of the continuation of life above and beyond the moment I am in and how even in the most questioning of times I can stay grounded for I stand on a solid
foundation. I am grateful that one of my favorite things is literally as old as dirt.
I am grateful that I have a favorite tree. No, that is a lie. There is a pair of twin Maples in the lower hayfield which are magnificent year-round and come Autumn they are simply glorious. But then, on my rocky hilltop, there are several Oaks and Pitch Pines that grow, stunted and twisted in the unstoppable barrage of wind. They aren’t beautiful and stately like the Maples but they are more intriguing. They send my mind into a delicious spin of unrealistic fancies, where I am sure that God has planted a bonsai garden here on my little rocky summit, and I have the privilege of visiting whenever I want. It fills me with untold joy, as I find bonsai trees most fascinating. Its as if I can enter into another world ~ a world of nature, woodland sprites, and where there is no Keeper of Time.
I am grateful that my family had the privilege of celebrating my dad’s 80th birthday and he and mom’s 60th wedding anniversary and for all of the family who came home to honor them. That we still gather at our childhood home, and in spite our differences, I love them each and every one ~ and it’s not just two or three. My dad and mom gave life to 15 children and have over one hundred grand and great-grandchildren. I am grateful I am theirs.
I am grateful that from my parents’ legacy, I built a quiet, steadfast marriage of my own. I am grateful for the twenty-nine years of being Justin’s wife and for the twenty-five years we have lived in our little home. Sometimes it’s hard to image that a quarter of a century has already passed, especially when we never thought we would stay. But we set down roots and we built “The Barn” which is the place where his hands and heart create our livelihood and I have the joy of working alongside him, day by day.
I am grateful that in all of these big things, there is hidden within them a hundred small things that are of equal glory. It’s as if life comes as a gift which, when unwrapped, reveals that below every layer is another gift, and another below that and below that, until it is down to the smallest speck. Even then, I wish I could find a magnifying glass to reveal the tiny blessings yet unseen.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~ Jen
Wishing you a beautiful and blessed month of November
and
a very grateful and peaceful Thanksgiving!
~ Jen at A Vintage Wren
