I am grateful for chocolate chips.

I am grateful for Central Christian chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, for memories of wearing a hair net and disposable gloves and getting out of school to go help at the fair booth, of washing big pans and staring at fairgoers out the window while washing those big pans on a school day in the warm September afternoon, for funny memories of thinking it was a huge deal if I actually saw Roger Cornish in the Channel 12 booth, for state fair experiences growing up close to and in Hutchinson that not everyone had.

I am grateful for little girls who sing songs and have no inhibition.

I am grateful for anti-itch cream.

My friends have always been hope bearers for me by reflecting Christ’s love both in my early years of struggle and today. [They] have been like zany mirrors for me in that they assure me that my cockeyed reflection is both accurate and acceptable. – Patsy Clairmont

I am grateful for and love those whom I consider my friends – who have assured me that my cockeyed reflection is dead-on accurate and likewise acceptable.

I am grateful for memories of the state fair – for the smell mixture of funnel cakes and blooming onions and corn dogs and popcorn and manure and hay, for the noise of dings and bells and engines and braying and music and laughter and carnies yelling and screams from the top of a ride, for the sights of neon lights and crazy hair and couples holding hands everywhere and  cowboy boots and little mouths buried in cotton candy or caramel apples and tractors and RVs and chickens in cages.

I am grateful that there are some young men in this world who tuck their shirts in and a few young women in this world who refuse to wear those tight black spandex yoga pants things.

I am grateful for the beauty of the morning star.

I am grateful that we didn’t give up on the Royals last night and stayed up to witness the Dyson/Gore speed and this:

I am grateful for a bonus today.

I am grateful that tomorrow I will have chips and salsa. Just not two baskets full.

I am grateful that my Dad liked riding rides with my girls and grateful that my Mom was just as happy to sit on a bench with me instead of riding those rides.

I am grateful that I am getting healthier – mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically.

And I am grateful for the beautiful lights of a ferris wheel – pretty enjoyable to stare at with an ice cream cone in hand and a best friend to share the moment.