Reflecting on gratitude

Having animals means having a routine. Every day, it's the same. They need to be fed, groomed, and given a little love. Even on rainy days and snowy days, and even on holidays. They eat before I start cooking and again before we sit down to eat on Thanksgiving. And for this, I am grateful. You see, every day, every time I feed them, they are grateful. Their joy at receiving fresh water, hay and feed is so simplistic. It takes so little for them to be happy. There is a simplicity in this that reminds me how easy gratitude can be. So this weekend, I thought I'd share all the things Songyard Farms makes me thankful for.

I'm grateful my youngest loves to help me at the mini barn-his specialty is climbing into the hay loft to feed the goats! My teens rarely volunteer to go, but they smile and have fun every time they do. I'm grateful for friends who let us store hay in their barns (though we have so much more room now in the new mini barn!). I'm grateful for warm hats, gloves and especially my favorite pair of wool socks on cold days. I'm thankful for all of the laughs we get from our animals' antics-nothing gets me like the joy of a goat at a full run, celebrating the day by kicking their legs like Pheobe from Friends flails her arms while running in Central Park. I'm so very, very grateful for my intense desire to build this blank slate of field into something beautiful, and for the help my husband gives me to make this dream com true. I'm thankful for the earned companionship my animals give-a head rub and gentle nuzzle from Travers the goat, a quiet cuddle from Daffodil the bunny, and a stretch and grunt letting me know a belly rub will be tolerated by Piper the pig are like little gifts every day. I know this journey will bring more gifts, more reasons to be thankful. It will bring oh so many challenges and failures, too; of that I'm certain. But when those challenges hit, when those failures occur, I'll have all these moments of gratitude to carry me through. And for that, I am thankful.

Travers, enjoying the woods on Thanksgiving.