I am grateful for the crispy burnt  outside of a fried hamburger.

Which, for some strange reason this morning, makes me grateful for memories of Mom’s knack for burning food, scraping off the black and serving it anyway, with the lesson to all of us at the table that we should be grateful for being served anything at all.

I am grateful for fuzzy slippers, for Estee Lauder perfume, for polyester pants, for white hair that sparkles in the sunlight, for silver tea glasses that sat on the table for holiday dinners, for countless teasing references to Mom’s big purses and driving ability,  for doilies on the table and the back of recliners, and for the enormous three ring binder filled with recipes cut out of newspapers that I used to have…

I am grateful for pants that are loose again.

I am grateful for the hymn, “The Solid Rock.” On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. It took rock bottom for me to discover how to stand up again.

I am grateful for the hour I was able to spend last night with my CASA girl. Quickly becoming a favorite hour of my week, and oh, I wish time didn’t go by so fast.

I am grateful for dried, wilted roses that “grace” the coffee table, the entry table, and the island.

I am grateful for fried cheese.

I am grateful that I grew up in a home where my parents taught their children that church was a priority, that prayer made a difference, that Jesus was to be honored and worshipped, that no matter what we did in this life, we would always be loved unconditionally.

I am grateful for The Monster at the End of This Book. I LOVED reading this book to my girls when they were little. Wonderful, bittersweet memories…

I am also grateful for the lesson of the book. The monster that we create in our mind is almost always, in reality, not a monster at all. It’s the anxiety and the worry that is the actual monster.

I am grateful for a quiet morning with my Dad and my brother in the kitchen, listening to last week’s message from our pastor, visiting quietly, enjoying being together.

I am grateful for a beautiful, sunny morning to reflect on Mom’s life, Mom’s final gift that she gave – donating her earthly body to science in order to train new doctors and pathologists at KU Medical School. This afternoon, we will honor her decision to give this one last gift, and what a privilege it will be to once again focus on Mom’s decision to serve others in passing from this life into Heaven.

And, finally, I am grateful for kleenex. I will always remember the scrunched up kleenex that could be found in the pockets of Mom’s jackets and coats and being grossed out not knowing if it had been used or just scrunched up. If only I could discover one of those in a pocket today…because I’m pretty sure I’m going to need it in a few hours.